The  De  Vinne  Press  certifies  that  fifty  copies  of 
this  book  were  printed  on  Dickinson  antique 
hand-made  paper,  of  which  this  is  N 


BROWERE'S  LIFE 
MASKS  OF  GREAT 
AMERICANS/?,*^ 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 
Age  82 


BROWERE'S  LIFE 
MASKS  OF  GREAT 
AMERICANS  ,#  BY 

CHARLES  HENRY  HART 


PRINTED  AT  THE  DE  VINNE 
PRESS  FOR  DOUBLEDAY  AND 
McCLURE  COMPANY  *  1899 


Copyright,  1897,  1898,  by  S.  S.  McCLURE  Co. 
Copyright,  1 899,  by  DOUBLEDAY  &  McCLURE  Co. 


TO    THE    MEMORY    OF 
JAMES     P    SMITH 

MINIATURE    PAINTER 

WHO    FIRST    DEVELOPED    MY    TASTE    FOR    ART 

I    INSCRIBE    THIS    VOLUME    AS    A 

TOKEN    OF    GRATITUDE 


Proem 

REAT  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow."  How  big 
results  may  flow  from  small  beginnings  is  typi- 
cally illustrated  by  the  possibilities  of  the 
present  volume.  It  began  with  the  bare  know- 
ledge that  there  was,  once  upon  a  time,  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Browere,  who  had  some  facility  in  making 
masks  from  the  living  face.  This  was  the  seed  that  was  des- 
tined to  expand  into  the  present  publication.  To  tell  how  this 
germ  grew,  would  be  to  anticipate  the  recital  in  the  following 
pages ;  but  the  lively  interest  shown  by  the  wide  public  and  by 
the  narrow  public,  the  people  and  the  artistic  circle,  in  the 
articles  upon  Browere's  Life  Masks  of  Great  Americans,  con- 
tributed by  the  writer  to  "McClure's  Magazine,"  has  called  for 
a  more  expanded  history  of  the  artist  and  his  work,  for  which 
fortunately  there  is  ample  material. 


x  Proem 

To  the  grandchildren  of  Browere,  who  have  reverently  pre- 
served the  works  of  their  ingenious  ancestor  and  generously 
placed  them  at  my  disposal  for  reproduction,  are  due  the  heartiest 
thanks ;  and  in  view  of  the  possibility  of  the  dispersal  of  the 
collection,  it  should  be  secured,  en  bloc,  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  most  important  of  the  life  masks 
cast  in  imperishable  bronze. 

CHARLES  HENRY  HART. 

Philadelphia,  October  i,  1898. 


Contents 

PAGE 

Proem         ........       ix 

i    The  Plastic  Art i 

ii  The  Plastic  Art  in  America  .....        4 

in  John  Henri  Isaac  Browere         .          .          .          .           12 

iv  The  Captors  of  Andre .          .          .          .          .          .28 

v  Discovery  of  the  Life  Mask  of  Jefferson     .          .           36 

vi  Three  Generations  of  Adamses       .          .          .                50 

vn  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison      .          .          .          .          .           56 

vin  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton          .          .          .          .60 

ix  The  Nation's  Guest,  La  Fayette         .          .          .           63 

x    De  Witt  Clinton 70 

xi  Henry  Clay     .......           73 

xn  America's  Master  Painter,  Gilbert  Stuart          .          .     76 

xin  David  Porter,  United  States  Navy      .          .          .           93 

xiv  Richard  Rush       .          .          .          .          .          .          .98 

xv  Edwin  Forrest          .          .          .          .          .          .         102 

xvi  Martin  Van  Buren         .          .          .          .          .          .104 

xvn  Death  Mask  of  James  Monroe           .          .          .         109 
Addendum  to  Chapter  vin    .          .          .          .          .    1 1 5 


List  of  Plates 

Thomas  Jefferson,  Profile          .          .          .  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

John  H.  I.  Browere    .          .          .          .          .          .          .12 

John  Paulding         .......  28 

Isaac  Van  Wart             .......  32 

David  Williams        .......  34 

Thomas  Jefferson          .......  40 

John  Adams  ........  50 

John  Quincy  Adams              .          .          .          .          .  52 

Charles  Francis  Adams     .          .          .          .          .          .  54 

James  Madison              .          .          .          .          .          .  56 

"Dolly"  Madison 58 

Charles  Carroll    .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .60 

Marquis  de  La  Fayette     .          .          .          .          .          .  66 

DeWitt  Clinton 70 

Henry  Clay 74 

Gilbert  Stuart 78 

David  Porter            .......  94 


xiv  List  of  Plates 

FACING  PAGE 

Richard  Rush      ........      98 

Edwin  Forrest          .          .          .          .          .          .          .102 

Martin  Van  Buren       .          .          .          .          .          .          .104 

James  Monroe's  Death  Mask    .          .          .          .          .         112 


LIFE  MASKS 


"The  Plastic  Art 


HE  plastic  art,  which  is  the  art  of  modelling  in 
the  round  with  a  pliable  material,  was  with  little 
doubt  the  earliest  development  of  the  imitative 
arts.  To  an  untrained  mind  it  is  a  more  obvi- 
ous method,  of  copying  or  delineating  an  object, 
than  by  lines  on  a  flat  surface.  Its  origin  is  so  early  and  so 
involved  in  myths  and  legends,  that  any  attempt  to  ascribe  its 
invention,  to  a  particular  nation  or  to  a  particular  individual, 
is  impossible.  Its  earliest  form  was  doubtless  monumental. 
Frequent  passages  in  the  Scriptures  show  this,  and  that  the 
Hebrews  practised  it,  as  did  also  their  neighbors  the  Phoeni- 
cians ;  while  excavations  have  revealed  the  early  plastic  monu- 
ments of  the  Assyrians.  For  more  than  two  thousand  years 
the  Egyptians  are  known  to  have  associated  the  plastic  arts 
with  their  religious  worship,  but,  being  bound  within  priestly 


2  Life   Masks 

rules,  made  no  perceptible  progress  from  its  beginning ;  yet 
these  crude  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt  are  now  the  records 
of  the  world's  history  of  their  time. 

Associated  with  architecture  from  its  earliest  development,  it 
has,  in  its  narrower  form  of  sculpture,  been  called,  not  inaptly, 
"  the  daughter  of  architecture."  Indeed,  in  the  remains  of 
ancient  monuments,  the  two  arts  are  so  intimately  combined, 
that  architecture  is  frequently  subordinated  to  sculpture,  par- 
ticularly in  the  buildings  of  the  middle  ages,  where  they  appear 
as ;  very  twin  sisters,  sculpture  often  supplying  structural  parts 
of  the  erection. 

Among  the  Greeks  the  plastic  art  existed  from  time  im- 
memorial, and  among  them  attained  its  highest  proficiency  and 
skill.  That  they  exceeded  all  others  in  this  art  goes  without 
saying;  their  familiarity  with  the  human  form  enabling  them 
to  portray  corporal  beauty  with  a  delicacy  and  perfection,  that 
no  society,  reared  in  any  other  situation  or  surrounded  by  other 
influences,  could  ever  attain.  With  them  beauty  was  the  chief 
aim,  it  having  in  their  eyes  so  great  a  value  that  everything 
was  subservient  to  it.  As  has  been  said,  "  It  was  above  law, 
morality,  modesty,  and  justice."  Greek  art,  as  we  know  it, 
began  about  600  B.  c. ;  but  it  did  not  arrive  at  its  perfection 
until  the  time  of  Pericles,  a  century  and  a  half  later,  in  the 
person  of  Pheidias,  who  consummately  illustrates  its  most  strik- 
ing characteristics  —  the  simplicity  with  which  great  efforts  are 


Life   Masks  3 

attained,  and  the  perfect  harmony  which  obtains  between  the 
desire  and  the  conception,  the  realization  and  the  execution. 
The  frieze  of  the  Parthenon,  which  easily  holds  the  supreme 
place  among  known  works  of  sculpture,  is  ample  proof  of  this. 
It  was  a  Greek  of  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  in  the 
century  following  that  of  Pheidias,  who  invented  the  art  of 
taking  casts  from  the  human  form.  This  honor,  according  to 
Pliny,  belongs  to  Lysistratus,  a  near  relative  of  the  famous 
sculptor  Lysippus,  who  made  life  casts  with  such  infinite  skill 
as  to  produce  strikingly  accurate  resemblances.  The  art  of 
making  life  casts  did  not,  however,  come  'into  general  use  until 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Andrea  Verocchio,  the 
most  noted  pupil  of  Donatello,  and  the  instructor  of  Perugini 
and  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  followed  it  with  such  success  as  to 
lead  Vasari,  Bottari,  and  others  to  ascribe  to  him  its  invention. 
It  was  this  art  of  taking  casts  from  the  human  form,  so  suc- 
cessfully followed  in  this  country,  nearly  four  hundred  years 
later,  by  John  Henri  Isaac  Browere,  that  has  afforded  the 
occasion  for  the  present  work. 


II 


'The  Plastic  Art  in  America 

1EFORE  entering  upon  the  subject  of  Browere 
and  his  life  masks,  it  seems  proper,  if  not  ac- 
tually necessary,  to  take  a  survey  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  plastic  art  in  that  part  of  America 
now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  prior  to  the  time  of  Browere,  so  as  to  understand  what 
influences  may  have  been  exerted  upon  him  in  the  direction  of 
his  career.  This  becomes  the  more  important  from  the  fact 
that  while  there  have  appeared  in  print,  from  time  to  time, 
numerous  references  to  this  subject,  not  a  single  consideration 
of  the  topic,  known  to  the  writer,  has  presented  the  facts  with 
that  accuracy  without  which  all  deductions  must  be  in  vain. 
From  the  present  consideration  the  plastic  work  of  the  abo- 
rigines is  necessarily  excluded,  as  it  belongs  to  another  and 
very  different  department  of  study;  this  having  to  do  with  a 
branch  of  the  fine  arts,  and  that  with  a  phase  of  archaeology. 

4 


Life   Masks  5 

Prior  to  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  while  there  were  among 
us  several  painters  exercising  their  art,  both  those  of  foreign 
and  those  of  native  birth,  no  note  has  come  down  of  any 
modeller  or  sculptor  in  our  midst,  save  one  —  a  very  remark- 
able woman  named  Patience  Wright.  It  may  be  that  we  had 
no  need  for  the  sculptor's  art.  We  were  mere  colonies  with- 
out call  for  statues  or  for  monuments.  It  is  true  there  was 
the  leaden  figure  of  King  George,  on  the  Bowling  Green,  in 
New  York;  but  it  came  from  the  mother  country,  and  soon 
furnished  bullets  for  her  rebellious  sons.  Likewise  came 
from  across  the  ocean  the  odd  bits  of  decoration  intended  as 
architectural  aids  in  the  building  of  old  Christ  Church,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  of  a  few  other  noted  buildings.  But  our 
first  practitioner  of  the  plastic  art  was,  as  has  been  said,  a 
woman. 

Patience  Lovell  was  born  in  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  of 
Quaker  parentage,  in  1725,  and  died  in  London,  March  23, 
1786.  When  twenty-three  she  married  Joseph  Wright,  who, 
twenty-one  years  later,  left  her  a  widow  with  three  children. 
She  had  early  shown  her  aptitude  for  modelling,  using  dough, 
putty,  or  any  other  material  that  came  in  her  way  ;  and,  being 
left  by  her  husband  unprovided  for,  she  made  herself  known 
by  her  small  portraits  in  wax,  chiefly  profile  bas-reliefs.  In 
1772,  she  sought  a  wider  field  for  her  abilities  by  removing 
to  London,  where  for  many  years  she  was  the  rage,  not  only 


6  Life   Masks 

for  her  plastic  work,  but  for  her  extraordinary  conversational 
powers,  which  drew  to  her  all  the  political  and  social  leaders 
of  the  day.  By  this  means  she  was  kept  fully  advised  as  to 
the  momentous  events  transpiring  relative  to  the  colonies;  and 
being  on  terms  of  familiar  intercourse  with  Doctor  Franklin 
(whose  profile  she  admirably  modelled,  it  being  afterward 
reproduced  by  Wedgwood),  she  communicated  her  informa- 
tion regularly  to  him,  as  shown  by  her  numerous  letters  pre- 
served in  his  manuscript  correspondence. 

Mrs.  Wright  had  a  piercing  eye,  which  seems  to  have  pene- 
trated to  the  very  soul  of  her  sitters,  and  enabled  her  to  read 
their  inner-selves  and  fix  their  characters  in  their  features. 
Of  her  three  children,  one  daughter  married  John  Hoppner, 
the  eminent  portrait-painter ;  another,  Elizabeth  Pratt,  fol- 
lowed her  mother's  profession  of  modelling  small  portraits  in 
wax ;  and  the  son,  Joseph,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  mention 
on  a  subsequent  page.  Some  idea  may  be  gathered  of  the 
meritorious  quality  of  Mrs.  Wright's  work  from  the  fact  that 
she  modelled  in  wax  a  whole-length  statue  of  the  great 
Chatham,  which,  protected  in  a  glass  case,  was  honored  with 
a  place  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Although  Patience  Wright 
never  aspired  to  what  is  recognized  as  high  art,  still  her  abilities 
were  of  a  high  order,  and  her  career  is  a  most  interesting  one 
to  follow  and  reflect  upon,  as  she  was  the  first  native  Ameri- 
can, of  American  parentage,  to  follow  the  art  of  modelling  as 


Life   Masks 


7 


a  profession.  Her  knowledge  must  have  been  wholly  self- 
acquired,  and  in  an  environment  not  conducive  to  the  devel- 
opment of  an  artistic  temperament. 

Mrs.  Wright  is  not  known  to  have  essayed  sculpture,  or  to 
have  worked  in  any  resisting  material,  so  that  the  first  native 
American  sculptor  was  William  Rush.  He  was  born  in  Phila- 
delphia, July  4,  1756,  being  fourth  in  direct  descent  from  John 
Rush,  who  commanded  a  troop  of  horse  in  Cromwell's  army, 
and,  having  embraced  the  principles  of  the  Quakers,  came  to 
Pennsylvania  the  year  following  the  landing  of  William  Penn. 
From  the  emigrant  John  Rush  was  also  descended,  in  the  fifth 
generation,  the  celebrated  Benjamin  Rush,  physician  and  politi- 
cian, and  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  father  of  William  was  Joseph  Rush,  who  married,  at  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  September  19,  1750,  Rebecca  Lincoln, 
daughter  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Springfield  Township,  now 
in  Delaware  County,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  of  the  same  fam- 
ily as  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  martyr  President  of  the  United 
States.  I  am  thus  minute  in  tracing  the  ancestry  of  William 
Rush,  in  order  to  establish  and  place  upon  record,  beyond  a 
question  or  doubt,  that  he  was  the  first  American  sculptor  by 
birth  and  parentage,  and  thus  set  at  rest,  the  claim,  so  fre- 
quently made,  that  this  honor  belongs  to  John  Frazee,1  a  man 
not  born  until  1790. 

i"  Schools  and  Masters  of  Sculpture,"  by  A.  G.  Radcliffe,  1894. 


8  Life   Masks 

Rush  served  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  it  was  not 
until  after  peace  had  settled  on  the  land  that  he  seems  to 
have  turned  his  attention  to  art.  He  soon  became  noted  for 
the  life-like  qualities  he  put  into  the  figureheads,  for  the  prows 
of  ships,  he  was  called  upon  to  carve,  and  so  noted  did  these 
works  become,  that  many  orders  came  to  him  from  Britain,  for 
figureheads  for  English  ships.  The  story  is  told  that  when  a 
famous  East  Indiaman,  the  Ganges,  sailed  up  that  river,  to 
Calcutta,  with  a  figure  of  a  river-god,  carved  by  Rush,  at  its 
prow,  the  natives  clambered  about  it  as  an  object  of  adoration 
and  of  worship.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  the  noted  architect, 
in  a  discourse  before  the  Society  of  Artists  of  the  United  States, 
in  1811,  says,  speaking  of  Rush:  "His  figures,  forming  the 
head  or  prow  of  a  vessel,  place  him,  in  the  excellence  of  his 
attitudes  and  actions,  among  the  best  sculptors  that  have  ex- 
isted ;  and  in  the  proportion  and  drawing  of  his  figures  he  is 
often  far  above  mediocrity  and  seldom  below  it.  There  is  a 
motion  in  his  figures  that  is  inconceivable.  They  seem  rather 
to  draw  the  ship  after  them  than  to  be  impelled  by  the  vessel. 
Many  are  of  exquisite  beauty.  I  have  not  seen  one  on  which 
there  is  not  the  stamp  of  genius." 

Rush  was  a  man  of  warm  imagination  and  of  a  lively  ideal- 
ity. These  are  shown  by  his  figures  symbolical  of  Strength, 
Wisdom,  Beauty,  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  carved  by  him  for 
the  Masonic  Temple;  by  his  figures  of  "Praise"  and  "Ex- 


Life   Masks  9 

altation,"  two  cherubim  encircled  by  glory,  in  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  Church;  and  by  his  "Christ  on  the  Cross,"  carved 
for  St.  Augustine's  Roman  Catholic  Church.  His  best-known 
work  is  his  whole-length  statue  of  Washington,  carved  in 
1815,  from  recollection,  by  the  aid  of  Houdon's  bust,  which 
it  closely  resembles,  now  in  the  old  State-house,  or  Indepen- 
dence Hall,  Philadelphia.  Another  noted  work  of  his,  from 
Miss  Vanuxem,  a  celebrated  Quaker  City  belle,  having  posed 
for  the  model,  is  the  graceful  figure  of  a  nymph,  with  a  swan, 
located  upon  a  rocky  perch  opposite  the  wheel-house  at 
Fairmount  water-works,  Philadelphia. 

Beside  carving  in  wood,  Rush  modelled  in  clay,  and  his  por- 
trait-busts have  always  been  recognized  as  truthful  and  satis- 
factory likenesses.  The  bust  most  commonly  seen  of  Lafay- 
ette is  his  work.  William  Rush  died  in  the  city  of  his  birth 
on  the  seventeenth  day  of  January,  1833  ;  anc^  considering  the 
era  in  which  he  lived  and  its  uncongenial  atmosphere,  his 
achievement  is  most  noteworthy  and  commendable. 

Twelve  days  after  the  birth  of  Rush,  Joseph  Wright  came 
into  the  world,  inheriting  from  his  mother  her  artistic  tem- 
perament. At  sixteen  he  accompanied  the  family  to  England, 
and  received  instruction  from  Benjamin  West  and  from  his 
brother-in-law,  Hoppner.  He  returned  to  America  late  in 
1782,  bringing  a  letter  of  commendation  from  Franklin  to 
Washington.  In  1783,  he  painted  a  portrait  of  Washington 


io  Life   Masks 

from  life,  at  Rocky  Hill,  New  Jersey,  and  the  next  year  was 
permitted  to  make  a  cast  of  Washington's  face,  which  is  said 
to  have  been  broken  irreparably  in  removing  from  the  skin, 
—  a  story  the  veracity  of  which  may  be  akin  to  that  in  regard 
to  Browere's  mask  of  Jefferson,  hereafter  to  be  told.  However 
this  may  be,  Wright  made  a  bust  of  Washington,  for  which 
Congress  paid  him  "233^  dollars,"  and  also  modelled  in 
wax  a  laureated  profile  portrait  of  Washington,  which  is  of 
both  artistic  and  historical  value.  Wright  died  in  Philadelphia, 
during  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  of  December,  1793,  and 
his  bust,  by  his  friend  Rush,  whom  he  is  said  to  have  in- 
structed in  clay  modelling,  belongs  to  the  Academy  of  the 
Fine  Arts,  at  Philadelphia. 

Patience  Wright,  her  son  Joseph,  and  William  Rush  are  the 
only  native  Americans  that  we  know  to  have  worked  at  the 
plastic  art  during  the  period  we  have  limited  for  this  review; 
and  thus  John  Frazee,  who  claimed  to  be,  and  therefore  is 
commonly  credited  with  being,  the  first  native  American 
sculptor  of  American  parentage,  need  not  be  considered ;  for  he 
was  only  two  years  old  when  Browere  was  born,  and  therefore 
can  have  had  no  part  in  influencing  Browere's  career. 

There  were,  however,  two  foreigners  who  certainly  did 
exercise  a  decided  influence  upon  art  in  America,  and  cannot 
properly  be  omitted  from  any  consideration  of  the  causes  that 
helped  the  plastic  art  onward  in  these  United  States.  Both 


Life   Masks  1 1 

of  them  were  men  of  commanding  ability  and  importance  in 
sculpture.  One  was  the  eminent  French  statuary  Houdon, 
who  visited  this  country  in  1785,  to  prepare  himself  to  produce 
his  famous  statue  of  Washington ;  and  the  other,  the  not  much 
less  able  Italian,  Giuseppe  Ceracchi,  who  came  here,  in  1791, 
for  love  of  freedom,  and  lived  among  us  about  four  years. 
Ceracchi's  plan  for  an  elaborate  monument  to  commemorate 
the  American  Revolution,  which  was  warmly  taken  up  by 
Washington  and  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  received  the 
consideration  of  Congress,  made  his  artistic  proclivities  better 
known,  and  gave  the  subject  a  wider  range  than  the  limited 
scope  of  Houdon's  work.  Yet  the  influence  of  both  these 
eminent  devotees  of  the  plastic  art  left,  without  doubt,  a  strong 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  —  an  impression  con- 
stantly refreshed  by  the  sight  of  their  works,  which  helped  to 
create  a  healthy  atmosphere  for  the  development  of  a  taste 
among  us  for  the  plastic  art. 

NOTE.  John  Dixey,  an  Irishman  about  whom  little  is 
known,  and  John  Eckstein,  a  German  by  birth  and  an  Eng- 
lishman by  adoption  and  education,  settled  here  toward  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  and  bpth  did  some  work  in  modelling 
and  in  stone-cutting ;  but  they  were  of  mediocre  ability,  and 
left  no  impression  upon  the  artistic  instinct  of  the  people. 


Ill 


John  Henri  Isaac  Browere 

|HAT  one  generation  fails  to  appreciate,  and 
therefore  decries  and  sneers  at,  a  subsequent 
one  comprehends  and  applauds.  It  is  con- 
spicuously so  in  discovery,  in  science,  in  poe- 
try, and  in  art ;  so  much  depends  upon  the 
point  of  view  and  the  environment  of  the  observed  and  of  the 
observer.  Were  these  remarks  not  true,  the  very  remarkable 
collection  of  busts  from  life  masks,  taken  at  the  beginning  of 
the  second  quarter  of  the  present  century,  by  John  Henri  Isaac 
Browere,  almost  an  unknown  name  a  year  ago,  would  not 
have  been  hidden  away  until  their  recent  unearthing.  The 
circumstances  that  led  to  their  discovery  are  as  curious  as  that 
the  busts  should  have  been  neglected  and  forgotten  for  so  long. 
John  Henri  Isaac  Browere,  the  son  of  Jacob  Browere  and 
Ann  Catharine  Gendon,  was  born  at  No.  55,  Warren  Street, 


12 


JOHN  HENRI  ISAAC  BROWERE 


Life   Masks  1 3 

New  York  city,  November  18,  1792,  and  died  at  his  house 
opposite  the  old  mile-stone,  in  the  Bowery,  in  the  city  of  his 
birth,  September  10,  1834,  and  was  buried  in  the  Carmine 
Street  Churchyard.  He  was  of  Dutch  descent,  one  of  those 
innumerable  claimants  of  heirship  to  Anneke  Jans,  through 
Adam  Brouwer,  of  Ceulen,  who  came  to  this  country  and 
settled  on  Long  Island,  in  1642.  Adam  Brouwer's  name  was 
really  Berkhoven,  but  the  name  of  his  business,  Brouwer  or 
Brewer,  became  attached  to  him,  so  that  his  descendants  have 
been  transmitted  by  his  trade-name,  and  thus,  as  is  often  the 
case,  a  new  surname  introduced.  His  second  son,  Jacob  Adam 
Brouwer,  or  Jacob  son  of  Adam  the  Brewer,  married  Annetje 
Bogardus,  granddaughter  of  Reverend  Edward  Bogardus  and 
Anneke  Jansen  (corrupted  to  Jans) ;  and  among  the  most  per- 
sistent pursuers  of  the  intangible  fortune  of  Anneke  Jans  has 
been  the  family  of  Browere. 

John  Browere  was  entered  as  a  student  at  Columbia  Col- 
lege, but  did  not  remain  to  be  graduated,  owing  doubtless  to 
his  early  marriage,  on  April  30,  1811,  to  Eliza  Derrick,  of 
London,  England.  He  turned  his  attention  to  art  and  became 
a  pupil  of  Archibald  Robertson,  the  miniature-painter,  who 
came  to  this  country  from  Scotland,  in  1791,  with  a  commis- 
sion from  David  Stuart,  Earl  of  Buchan,  to  paint,  for  his  gallery 
at  Aberdeen,  a  portrait  of  Washington.  Later  on,  Archibald 
Robertson,  with  his  brother  Alexander,  opened  at  No.  79, 


14  Life   Masks 

Liberty  Street,  New  York,  the  well-known  Columbian  Acad- 
emy, where,  for  thirty  years,  these  Scotchmen  maintained  a 
school,  for  the  instruction  of  both  sexes  in  drawing  and  in 
painting,  and  where  Vanderlyn,  Inman,  Cummings,  and  other 
of  the  early  New  York  artists,  profited  by  their  training.  At 
the  present  time,  when  miniature-painting  is  again  coming 
into  vogue,  it  is  interesting  to  reflect  that  the  letters  which 
passed  between  Archibald  Robertson  in  this  country,  and  his 
brother  Andrew  in  Scotland,  form  the  best  treatise  that  can 
be  found  upon  the  charming  art  of  painting  in  little.  These 
letters,  after  having  remained  in  manuscript  for  the  better  part 
of  a  century,  have  recently  been  given  to  the  public,  in  a 
charming  volume  of  "  Letters  and  Papers  of  Andrew  Robert- 
son," edited  by  his  daughter,  Miss  Emily  Robertson,  of 
Lansdowne  Terrace,  Hampton  Wick,  England. 

Determined  to  improve  himself  still  further,  Browere  ac- 
cepted the  offer  of  his  brother,  who  was  captain  of  a  trading- 
vessel  to  Italy,  to  accompany  him  abroad ;  and  for  nearly  two 
years  the  young  man  travelled  on  foot  through  Italy,  Austria, 
Greece,  Switzerland,  France,  and  England,  diligently  studying 
art  and  more  especially  sculpture.  Returning  to  New  York, 
he  began  modelling,  and  soon  produced  a  bust  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  from  Archibald  Robertson's  well-known  miniature 
of  the  Federal  martyr,  which  was  pronounced  a  meritorious 
attempt  to  produce  a  model  in  the  round  from  a  flat  surface. 
Being  of  an  inventive  turn,  he  began  experimenting  to  obtain 


Life   Masks  15 

casts  from  the  living  face  in  a  manner  and  with  a  compo- 
sition different  from  those  commonly  employed  by  sculptors. 
After  many  trials  and  failures,  he  perfected  his  process,  with 
the  superior  results  shown  in  his  work. 

Browere's  first  satisfactory  achievement  was  a  mask  of  his 
friend  and  preceptor,  Robertson,  and  his  second  was  that  of 
Judge  Pierrepont  Edwards,  of  Connecticut.  But  the  most  im- 
portant of  his  very  early  works  was  the  mask  of  John  Paulding, 
the  first  to  die  of  the  captors  of  Andre ;  and  this  mask,  made  in 
1817,  was  followed  later  by  masks  of  Paulding's  coadjutors, 
Williams  and  Van  Wart ;  so  that  we  owe  to  Browere's  nimble 
fingers  the  only  authentic  likenesses  we  have  of  these  conspicu- 
ous patriots  of  the  Revolution. 

Browere  wrote  verse  and  painted  pictures  in  addition  to  his 
modelling,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1821,  made  an  exhibition  at 
the  old  gallery  of  the  American  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts, 
in  Chambers  Street,  New  York,  which  called  forth  the  follow- 
ing card  from  his  early  instructor,  Robertson,  who  was  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  Academy.  It  is  interesting,  notwith- 
standing the  unconscious  partiality  one  is  apt  to  have  for  a 
former  pupil,  and  is  addressed: 

To  the  American  Public. 

Having  for  many  years  been  intimately  acquainted  with 
John  H.  I.  Browere,  of  the  City  of  New  York,  I  deem  it  a 


1 6  Life   Masks 

duty  which  I  owe  to  him  as  an  artist,  and  to  the  public  as 
judges,  to  say  that  from  my  own  observation  of  his  works  both 
as  a  painter,  poet,  and  sculptor,  I  think  him  endowed  with  a 
great  genius  by  nature  and  first  talents  by  industry.  This  my 
opinion,  his  works  lately  exhibited  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Amer- 
ican Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  New  York,  fully  justify  and  is 
amply  corroborated  by  all,  who  with  unprejudiced  eye,  view 
the  works  of  his  hand.  ARCHIBALD  ROBERTSON. 

NEW  YORK,  May  21,  1821. 

It  was  left,  however,  for  "The  Nation's  Guest"  to  lift 
Browere's  art  into  prominence.  At  the  request  of  the  New 
York  city  authorities,  Lafayette  permitted  Browere,  in  July 
of  1825,  to  make  a  cast  of  his  face.  This  was  so  successful 
that  from  this  time  on,  Browere  was  devoted  to  making  casts 
of  the  most  noted  characters  in  the  country's  history,  who  were 
then  living,  with  the  purpose  of  forming  a  national  gallery 
of  the  busts  of  famous  Americans.  He  intended  to  have  them 
reproduced  in  bronze,  and  devoted  years  of  labor  and  the-  ex- 
penditure of  much  money  to  the  furtherance  of  his  scheme. 
He  wrote  to  Madison :  "  Pecuniary  emolument  never  has  been 
my  aim.  The  honor  of  being  favored  by  my  country  biases 
sordid  views."  In  1828  he  wrote  to  the  same:  "I  have  ex- 
pended $12,087  m  the  procuration  of  the  specimens  I  now 


Life   Masks  17 

have."  These  included  masks  of  Presidents  John  and  John 
Quincy  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  and  later  was  added 
that  of  Van  Buren  ;  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton ;  Lafayette ; 
De  Witt  Clinton;  Generals  Philip  Van  Cortlandt,  Alexander 
Macomb  and  Jacob  Brown;  Commodore  David  Porter;  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  Samuel  L.  Southard  of  New  Jersey;  and 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Richard  Rush  of  Pennsylvania; 
Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  Philip  Pendleton 
Barbour;  and  the  great  commoner,  Henry  Clay;  Doctors 
Samuel  Latham  Mitchill,  Valentine  Mott,  and  David  Hosack ; 
Edwin  Forrest  and  Tom  Hilson,  the  actors;  Charles  Francis 
Adams  and  Philip  Hone;  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  Doctor 
Cooper  of  South  Carolina;  Colonel  Stone  and  Major  Noah, 
of  newspaper  notoriety;  Dolly  Madison  and  Francis  Wright; 
Gilbert  Stuart,  Paulding,  Williams,  and  Van  Wart;  and  other 
personages  favorably  known  in  their  day,  but  who  have 
slipped  out  of  the  niche  of  worldly  immortality,  so  that  even 
their  names  fail  to  awaken  a  recollection  of  themselves.  Such 
is  the  mutability  of  fame. 

The  time,  however,  was  not  ripe  for  the  public  patronage 
of  the  Fine  Arts.  There  was,  too,  a  feeling  abroad  that  it 
savored  of  monarchy  and  favored  classes,  to  perpetuate  men 
and  deeds  by  statues  and  monuments.  Another  cause  that 
hampered  Browere  was  the  lack  of  protection  accorded  to 
such  works.  He  complains  to  Madison :  "  I  regret  to  say  that 


1 8  Life   Masks 

as  yet  no  law  has  been  passed  to  protect  modelling  and  sculp- 
ture, and  therefore  I  have  been  hindered  from  completing  the 
gallery,  fearful  of  having  the  collection  pirated."  So  dis- 
heartened did  he  become  with  the  little  interest  shown  in  his 
project  and  the  work  he  had  accomplished  for  it,  that  at  one 
time  he  contemplated  visiting  Panama,  and  presenting  the 
busts  of  the  more  prominent  subjects  to  the  republics  of  South 
America,  in  order  to  incite  them  to  further  efforts  for  freedom. 
Finally  he  was  forced  to  abandon  his  scheme  of  a  national 
gallery,  owing  to  want  of  support,  and  the  direct  opposition  — 
"jealous  enmity,"  Browere  calls  it  —  of  his  brother  artists,  the 
old  American  Academy  faction  led  by  Colonel  Trumbull,  and 
the  new  National  Academy  followers  led  by  William  Dunlap. 
They  maligned  his  pretensions  because  he  was  honest  enough 
to  call  his  method  for  accomplishing  what  he  attempted  "a 
process."  Surely,  judging  from  results,  it  was  superior  to  any 
other  known  method  of  obtaining  a  life  mask,  and  it  seems 
most  unfortunate  that  his  "process"  has  to  be  counted  among 
"the  lost  arts";  for  neither  he  nor  his  son,  who  was  acquainted 
with  both  the  composition  and  the  method  of  applying  it,  has 
left  a  word  of  information  on  the  subject.  When  the  public 
press  attacked  Browere  and  his  method  for  the  rumored  mal- 
treatment of  President  Jefferson,  he  replied :  "  Mr.  Browere 
never  has  followed  and  never  will  follow  the  usual  course, 
knowing  it  to  be  fallacious  and  absolutely  bad.  The  manner 


Life   Masks  19 

in  which  he  executes  portrait-busts  from  life  is  unknown  to  all 
but  himself,  and  the  invention  is  his  own,  for  which  he  claims 
exclusive  rights,  but  it  is  infinitely  milder  than  the  usual 
course."  That  his  method  of  taking  the  mask  was  accom- 
plished without  discomfort  to  the  subject  is  fully  attested  by 
the  number  of  persons  who  submitted  to  it,  as  also  by  the 
many  certificates  given  by  Jefferson,  Adams,  Madison,  Lafay- 
ette, Gilbert  Stuart,  and  others  to  that  effect. 

In  the  following  letter  from  Browere  to  Trumbull  it  will 
be  seen  the  writer  does  not  attempt  to  conceal  his  feelings  of 
resentment : 

NEW  YORK,  12  July,  1826. 
Sir: 

The  very  illiberal  and  ungentleman-like  manner  in  which 
Col.  Trumbull  treated  the  execution,  &c.,  of  my  portrait-busts 
of  Ex-President  Adams  and  Honorable  Charles  Carroll  with 
the  statue  of  Ex-President  Jefferson,  late  displayed  in  the  ban- 
quetting  hall  of  the  Hon.  Common  Council  of  New  York, 
has  evidenced  a  personal  ill-will  and  hostility  to  me  that  I  shall 
not  pass  over  in  silence.  The  envy  and  jealousy  inherent  in 
your  nature  and  expressed  in  common  conversations  intimate 
to  me  a  man  of  a  perverse  and  depraved  mind. 

Rest  assured,  Sir,  I  fear  not  competition  with  you  as  a  por- 
trait or  historic  painter;  I  know  your  fort,  and  your  failings. 
To  convince  you  that  I  know  somewhat  of  the  Arts  of  Design, 


20  Life   Masks 

I  shall  immediately  commence  an  analysis  of  your  four  pictures 
painted  for  Congress,  and  shall  endeavor  therein  to  refer  to 
each  and  every  figure  plagiarized  from  English  and  other 
prints.  Your  assertion  to  me  that  you  made  your  portraits 
therein  to  correspond  with  their  characters,  will  assuredly  go 
for  as  much  as  they  deserve.  In  my  opinion,  ideal  likenesses 
ought  not  to  be  palmed  on  a  generous  public  for  real  ones. 

Remember  what  was  said  on  the  floor  of  Congress  in  ref- 
erence to  your  four  celebrated  pictures :  "  Instead  of  being 
worth  $32,000  they  were  not  worth  32  cents."  In  remem- 
bering this  remember  that  "  nemo  me  impune  lacessit."  And 
by  attending  to  your  own  concerns  you  will  retain  a  reputa- 
tion or  name  of  being  an  able  artist  and  not  a  slanderer. 

BROWERE,  Sculptor. 


Colonel  Trumbull  has  endorsed  this  letter:  "Browere.  Poor 
man  !  too  much  vanity  hath  made  him  mad" 

However,  from  a  letter  written  three  years  later  to  the 
Directors  of  the  American  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts,  and  "  Fa- 
vored by  Col.  Trumbull"  it  would  appear  that  the  two  artists 
had  healed  their  differences ;  but  Browere's  feeling  of  resent- 
ment toward  the  National  Academy  of  Design  knew  no  abate- 
ment. He  was  kept  out  of  the  National  Academy  by  Dunlap, 
who  also  ignored  him  in  his  malevolent  and  unreliable  "His- 


Life   Masks  21 

tory  of  the  Arts  of  Design  in  the  United  States."  The  cause 
for  this,  as  stated  by  Browere's  son,  was  that  before  Browere 
had  ever  met  Dunlap  he  was  asked  his  opinion  of  Dunlap's 
painting  of  "  Death  on  the  Pale  Horse,"  then  on  public  exhi- 
bition. He  replied :  "  It  's  a  strong  work,  but  looks  as  if  it 
were  painted  by  a  man  with  but  one  eye."  This  remark  was 
reported  to  Dunlap,  who  actually  had  but  one  eye.  He  was 
mortally  offended  at  the  sculptor's  insight,  and  became  his  un- 
dying enemy.  Browere  wrote  to  the  Academy  as  follows : 

NEW  YORK,  31  July,  1829. 
Gentlemen : 

For  several  years  past  I  have  strictly  devoted  myself  to  the 
profession  of  the  liberal  arts  and  natter  myself  that  my  efforts 
have  not  been  detrimental  to  their  interests.  The  reason  why 
or  wherefore  I,  an  American  artist,  bearing  with  me  an  un- 
blemished moral  reputation,  should  have  been  selected  for 
exclusion  by  both  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  as  well 
as  the  self-denominated  Academy  of  Design,  appears  mysteri- 
ous and  illiberal,  and  not  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of 
religion  or  democracy.  Had  not  an  enthusiastic  love  of  and 
devotion  to  the  Fine  Arts  guided  my  reason,  at  this  day  I 
should  have  become  one  of  the  most  inveterate  enemies  to 
both  institutions.  Philosophy  has  made  me  what  I  now  am, 
*utz.,  the  sincere  friend  of  man  and  admirer  of  the  works  of 


22  Life   Masks 

his  hands.  As  such  I  have, —  written  injuries  as  sand  —  favors 
on  the  tablet  of  memory. 

As  one  of  the  great  body  of  artists  of  America  I  deem  it  an 
incumbent  duty  to  advance  the  beauteous  arts  by  all  honorable 
means,  and  to  chastise  arrogance,  presumption,  ignorance,  and 
wilful  malevolence.  With  chagrin  I  have  viewed  the  sinister 
and  aristocratical  proceedings  of  the  National  Academy,  and 
the  ill  results  that  must  eventually  follow  its  longer  continu- 
ance, and  therefore  have  publicly  deprecated  its  wickedness. 
As  one  of  the  regenerators  of  the  old  or  American  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts,  I  now  make  bold  in  saying  to  its  directors  a  few 
things,  which  if  duly  weighed  and  followed  must  result  favor- 
ably to  its  vitality  and  best  interests,  and  be  the  medium  of 
establishing  the  reputation  of  artists  on  firm  and  lasting  basis, 
viz. :  by  collecting  around  the  American  Academy  and  with 
it  all  the  genius  and  talent  in  the  arts  of  design  which  our 
country  possesses  and  creating  a  fund  sufficient  to  all  its  wants 
and  expenditures. 

Already,  twenty-five  artists  of  respectability  of  this  city 
await  one  effort  of  the  American  Academy  to  reestablish  its 
original  standing  and  reputation,  and  they  will  join  heart  and 
hand  to  oppose  the  Academy  of  Design  (truly  so  called)  by 
every  work  of  their  hands  done  and  to  be  done.  The  one 
effort  alluded  to  is  to  procure  at  a  reasonable  rent  say  from 
800  to  1000  dollars  per  annum  the  second  story  of  the  large 


Life   Masks  23 

and  splendid  building  now  erecting  corner  of  Anthony  Street 
and  Broadway.  The  undersigned  is  perfectly  well  assured  that 
from  $1000  to  $1500  per  annum  can  be  realized  (exclusive  of 
rent)  from  daily  exhibitions  of  the  works  of  living  artists  not 
in  connection  with  the  National  Academy.  He  is  fully  satis- 
fied from  late  observations  that  twenty-five  new  pieces  or 
paintings  can  be  procured  monthly,  all  of  which  may  be  pro- 
cured on  loan  for  one  month  at  least.  This  being  the  case 
the  Academy  must  eventually  and  in  a  very  short  time  sup- 
plant the  puny  efforts  of  a  few  National  Esquires,  a  majority 
of  whom  are  scarce  entering  their  teens. 

The  subscribing  artist  respectfully  informs  you  that  the 
exhibition  of  the  rough  specimens  of  his  art,  viz.,  "The  In- 
quisition of  Spain,"  at  No.  315  Broadway,  did  positively 
realize  to  him,  in  eighteen  months,  Seven  thousand  and  sixty- 
nine  dollars.  If,  then,  such  an  exhibition  could  realize  such  a 
sum,  what  would  an  exhibition  of  splendid  historic  and  alle- 
goric subjects,  with  portraits,  miniatures,  and  landscapes  by  our 
native  artists,  not  realize  under  the  guidance  of  such  a  respect- 
able board  of  directors  as  is  that  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts  ? 

The  names  of  Trumbull,  Vanderlyn,  Frothingham,  etc., 
alone  would  act  as  magic  on  a  discriminating  public,  provided 
fair  specimens  of  their  talents  be  judiciously  arranged  for  public 
inspection.  Boston  has  done  wonders  this  year  in  her  Athe- 


24  Life   Masks 

nasum.  Why,  then,  should  we,  equally  blessed  with  native 
talent,  despair,  and  sit  down  in  sack-cloth  and  ashes,  when  a 
single  effort  can  make  us  her  equal  and  rival  ?  Gentlemen,  I 
am  enthusiastic,  and  yet  have  maturely  weighed  each  and  every 
reason  against  your  regeneration,  and  boldly  assert  more  is  for 
you  than  against  you.  The  three  preceding  mentioned  gen- 
tlemen are  equal  to,  if  not  superior  in  talent  to,  any  Boston 
can  produce.  Our  portrait-painters  generally  bid  fair  to  excel. 
All  that  is  wanted  is  your  help  as  a  body  corporate,  your  co- 
operation as  lovers  of  the  Fine  Arts.  Where,  if  you  become 
extinct,  shall  we  go  to  study  the  models  of  antiquity  ?  Alas ! 
we  know  of  no  other  place  wherein  the  experience  of  ages  is 
collected,  en  masse,  no  place  wherein  to  receive  that  instruc- 
tion so  essential  to  a  knowledge  of  our  profession.  Mr. 
Bowen,  the  proprietor,  has  offered  to  you  through  Colonel 
Trumbull,  the  room  alluded  to  at  a  fair  compensation;  it  now 
rests  with  you  to  say  for  once  and  for  all,  "We  will,"  or,  "we 
will  not  continue  the  patrons  of  art."  Wishing  to  yourselves 
individually,  and  collectively  as  a  body  corporate,  health  and 
peace,  I  remain, 

Gentlemen,  truly  your  Friend  in  the  Fine  Arts, 

JOHN  H.  I.  BROWERE. 

No  formal  action  is  known  to  have  been  taken  upon  this 
communication;  but  the  antagonism  plainly  evident  as  existing 


Life   Masks  25 

between  the  new  Academy  of  Design  and  the  old  Academy 
of  the  Fine  Arts,  forms  a  lively  chapter  in  the  history  of  Amer- 
ican art.  Full  particulars  of  the  strife  are  given  in  Dunlap's 
book  and  in  Cummings's  "Historic  Annals  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Design."  But  these  accounts  are  from  biased 
adherents  of  the  new  institution  and  bitter  opponents  of  the 
old,  so  that,  for  a  brief  but  philosophical  and  judicial  consider- 
ation of  the  subject,  one  must  turn  to  John  Durand's  sketch 
of  Colonel  Trumbull  in  the  "American  Art  Review"  for  1880. 

Browere  died,  after  only  a  few  hours'  illness,  of  cholera ;  and 
it  is  pathetic  to  picture  the  disappointed  sculptor,  on  his  death- 
bed, directing,  as  he  did,  that  the  heads  should  be  sawed  off 
the  most  important  busts,  and  boxed  up  for  forty  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  period  he  hoped  their  exhibition  would  elicit 
recognition  for  their  merit  and  value  as  historical  portraits 
from  life.  This  directed  mutilation  was  not  made;  but  the 
busts  never  saw  the  light  of  day  until  the  Centennial  year, 
when  a  few  of  them  were  placed  on  exhibition  in  Philadel- 
phia. But  not  being  connected  with  the  national  celebration, 
they  were  a  mere  side-show,  and  were  not  in  a  position  to 
attract  attention.  Indeed,  the  fact  of  their  exhibition  was 
unheralded,  and  has  only  recently  become  known. 

Call  Browere's  work  what  one  will, —  process,  art,  or  me- 
chanical,—  the  result  gives  the  most  faithful  portrait  possible, 
down  to  the  minutest  detail,  the  very  living  features  of  the 


26  Life   Masks 

breathing  man,  a  likeness  of  the  greatest  historical  significance 
and  importance.  A  single  glance  will  show  the  marked  differ- 
ence between  Browere's  work  and  the  ordinary  life  cast  by  the 
sculptor  or  modeller,  no  matter  how  skilful  he  may  be. 
Browere's  work  is  real,  human,  lifelike,  inspiring  in  its  truth- 
fulness, while  other  life  masks,  even  the  celebrated  ones  by 
Clark  Mills,  who  made  so  many,  are  dead  and  heavy,  almost 
repulsive  in  their  lifelessness.  It  seems  next  to  marvelous  how 
he  was  able  to  preserve  so  wonderfully  the  naturalness  of  ex- 
pression. His  busts  are  imbued  with  animation ;  the  individual 
character  is  there,  so  simple  and  direct  that,  next  to  the  living 
man,  he  has  preserved  for  us  the  best  that  we  can  have  —  a 
perfect  facsimile.  One  experiences  a  satisfaction  in  contem- 
plating these  busts  similar  to  that  afforded  by  the  reflected 
image  of  the  daguerreotype.  Both  may  be  "inartistic"  in  the 
sense  that  the  artist's  conception  is  wanting;  but  for  historical 
human  documents  they  outweigh  all  the  portraits  ever  limned 
or  modelled. 

Browere  left  a  wife  and  eight  children,  his  second  child  and 
eldest  son,  Alburtis  D.  O.  Browere,  inheriting  the  artistic 
temperament  of  the  father.  He  was  born  at  Tarrytown, 
March  17,  1814,  and  died  at  Catskill,  February  17,  1887. 
After  his  father's  death,  he  entered  the  schools  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Design,  and,  in  1841,  gained  the  first  prize 
of  $  i  oo,  in  competition  with  twenty-four  others,  for  his  pic- 


Life   Masks  27 

ture  of  "Canonicus  Treating  with  the  English,"  as  detailed  in 
Thatcher's  "Lives  of  the  Indians."  Previous  to  this,  when 
only  eighteen  years  old,  he  was  awarded  a  silver  medal,  by  the 
American  Institute  in  New  York,  "for  the  best  original  oil 
painting,"  the  title  of  which  has  been  forgotten.  He  painted 
several  pictures  with  Rip  Van  Winkle  as  the  subject,  and  among 
his  contemporaries  and  friends  was  highly  appreciated  as  an  ar- 
tist and  as  a  man.  He  went  to  California  soon  after  the  opening 
to  the  east  of  that  El  Dorado,  where  he  remained  several 
years,  painting  many  pictures  of  mining  scenes.  It  was  he 
who  added  the  draperies  to  the  busts  made  from  his  father's 
life  masks  —  an  addition  much  to  be  regretted;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  his  filial  reverence  that  preserved  these  in- 
valuable human  documents,  and  has  permitted  us  to  see  and 
know  how  many  of  the  great  characters  who  have  gone  before 
really  appeared  in  the  flesh,  how  they  actually  looked  when 
they  lived  and  moved  and  had  their  being. 


IV 


"The  Captors  of  Andre 


iHILE  Arnold  is  handed  down  with  exe- 
cration to  future  times,  posterity  will  repeat 
with  reverence  the  names  of  Van  Wart, 
Paulding,  and  Williams."  These  words  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,  written  to  John  Lau- 
rens  shortly  after  the  taking  of  Andre,  form  a  fitting  text  for 
the  chapter  introducing  Browere's  busts  of  those  patriots.  It 
is  fitting,  because  of  the  varying  winds  that  have  blown  over 
the  subject,  swaying  public  opinion  first  one  way  and  then  the 
other ;  until  finally  the  full  prophecy  of  Hamilton  is  accepted 
as  the  right  judgment  of  posterity.  Of  course,  my  comments 
refer  only  to  the  captors  of  Andre;  there  never  has  been  but 
one  judgment  as  to  the  execrated  Arnold. 

It  required  more  than  a  generation  for  any  voice  to  let  itself 
be  heard  questioning  the  sincerity  and  patriotism  of  the  three 


JOHN  PAULDING 
Age  59 


i  of  Andre 


K HO) 


Life   Masks  29 

lads  who  brought  Andre  to  justice.  And  then  it  was  the 
voice  of  only  one  man,  Colonel  Tallmadge,  who  had  come 
under  Andre's  winsome  fascinations,  while  acting  as  officer  of 
the  guard  over  the  unfortunate  spy  from  his  capture  to  his 
execution.  The  occasion  for  the  unworthy  onslaught  of  Tall- 
madge, was  a  resolution  offered  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
at  Washington,  to  increase  the  beggarly  pension  of  $200  per 
annum,  awarded,  with  a  silver  medal,  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, to  each  of  the  three, —  Paulding,  Williams,  and  Van 
Wart.  Tallmadge  opposed  it,  not  upon  the  ground  that  these 
men  had  not  done  the  deed  history  accords  to  them  and  thereby 
possibly  saved  the  new  nation,  but  because  Andre,  the  captured 
spy,  while  in  captivity,  had  told  his  keeper  that  they  deceived 
him  into  believing  they  were  British  soldiers,  and  when  he 
found  they  were  not,  but  were  American  militiamen  and  he 
their  prisoner,  he  could  have  bought  his  freedom  if  he  had 
been  weighted  down  with  gold.  Suppose  this  story  of  Andre, 
as  retailed  by  Tallmadge,  thirty-seven  years  after  the  happen- 
ing of  the  event,  is  accepted  at  its  fullest  value  —  what  does  it 
signify?  At  best  it  is  a  mere  surmise,  hardly  even  the  expres- 
sion of  an  opinion ;  and  that  it  was  baseless  is  shown  most 
emphatically  by  the  express  denial  of  each  one  of  the  captors, 
under  oath,  when  Tallmadge  made  his  ill-judged  and  unpatri- 
otic charge.  British  gold  was  ever  present  during  the  Revolu- 
tion to  debauch  patriots  and  make  them  traitors,  acting  upon 


30  Life   Masks 

the  doctrine  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  that  every  man  has  his 
price ;  therefore  Andre  surmised  that  three  ragged,  unpaid, 
militiamen  would  easily  have  yielded  could  they  have  seen  the 
yellow  glitter;  but  subsequent  events  clearly  disprove  that  the 
prisoner  could  have  bought  his  freedom. 

The  fact  is,  such  a  halo  of  romance  and  supposed  chivalry 
has  garlanded  itself  over  Andre,  owing  to  his  youth  and 
charming  personality,  that  the  best  judgments  are  warped  and 
influenced,  in  his  favor,  when  they  take  up  a  consideration  of 
his  unhappy  fate.  Yet  his  case  was  an  aggravated  one.  He 
entered  upon  the  errand  of  a  spy  with  his  eyes  wide  open  to  its 
dangers  and  its  consequences.  He  was  taken  red-handed,  and 
suffered  the  penalty  of  his  daring,  after  a  trial,  not  by  his  peers, 
but  by  his  superiors.  His  suppliant  plea  that  he  was  unwit- 
tingly betrayed  within  our  lines  by  the  very  man  with  whom 
he  knew  he  was  holding  unlawful  communication,  and  that  he 
should  be  protected  by  the  word  and  passes  of  the  traitor 
Arnold,  are  pathetic  in  their  puerility;  yet  his  cause  has  not 
failed  of  advocates  upon  this  plea.  After  all,  it  is  merely  the 
settling  of  a  sentimental  point  in  history,  and  the  consensus 
of  opinion  is  that  Andre  suffered  justly  and  that  posterity 
should  "repeat  with  reverence  the  names  of  Van  Wart, 
Paulding,  and  Williams." 

The  truth  is,  there  is  too  much  unnecessary  iconoclasm 
abroad  in  regard  to  historic  characters.  Where  false  repu- 


Life   Masks  31 

tations  have  been  built  upon  foundations  laid  by  others,  or 
impinge  upon  the  honor  due  to  another,  it  is  meet  and  right 
that  they  should  be  exposed  and  honor  be  given  to  whom 
honor  is  due.  But  there  is  no  such  condition  here ;  it  is  a 
mere  attempt  to  tarnish  one  of  the  most  important  acts  of  the 
American  Revolution  in  its  far-reaching  consequences,  so  that  it 
shall  be  deprived  of  some  of  its  brilliancy.  On  the  present 
question  we  can  do  no  better  than  accept  the  judgment  of 
Washington  —  a  man  never  carried  away  by  his  feelings,  but 
always  cairn,  judicial,  and  just.  He  wrote  to  Congress  :  "  I 
do  not  know  the  party  that  took  Major  Andre,  but  it  is  said 
that  it  consisted  only  of  a  few  militia,  who  acted  in  such  a 
manner  upon  the  occasion  as  does  them  the  highest  honor  and 
proves  them  to  be  men  of  great  virtue.  As  soon  as  I  know  their 
names  I  shall  take  pleasure  in  transmitting  them  to  Congress." 
And  later,  in  forwarding  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  of  War, 
to  Congress,  he  writes :  "  I  have  now  the  pleasure  to  com- 
municate the  names  of  the  three  persons  who  captured  Major 
Andre  and  who  refused  to  release  him  notwithstanding  the  most 
earnest  importunities  and  assurances  of  a  liberal  reward  on  his 
part.  Their  names  are  John  Paulding,  David  Williams,  and 
Isaac  Van  Wart." 

The  master  spirit  of  the  three  captors  seems  to  have  been 
John  Paulding,  who  was  the  first  of  them  to  die,  as  also  the 
first  to  have  his  mask  taken  by  Browere.  Indeed,  his  bust  is 


32  Life   Masks 

from  the  earliest  mask  we  have  that  Browere  made,  and  is 
inscribed  by  the  sculptor:  "Made  1821  from  the  mould  made 
in  1817."  The  latter  was  the  year  of  the  Tallmadge  episode, 
and  Paulding,  when  in  New  York  in  connection  with  that 
affair,  was  taken,  by  Alderman  Percy  Van  Wyck,  to  Browere's 
house  at  No.  315  Broadway,  where  the  life  mask  was  made. 

The  attempt  has  also  been  made  to  throw  discredit  upon 
the  service  of  the  captors  of  Andre  by  underestimating  their 
social  position  in  the  community  in  which  they  lived.  This 
absurd  but  too  common  practice  in  a  democracy  like  ours, 
where  all  men  are  supposed  to  be  equal,  can  cut  no  figure  here ; 
for  whatever  may  have  been  the  station  in  life  of  Williams 
and  Van  Wart,  who  were  kinsmen  (the  latter's  mother  and 
the  former's  father  having  been  brother  and  sister),  Paulding 
belonged  to  a  family  of  consideration  in  his  native  State. 

John  Paulding  was  born  in  New  York  city  in  1758,  and 
died  in  Staatsburg,  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  February  18, 
1818.  His  brother,  William  Paulding,  represented  Suffolk 
county  in  the  first  provincial  congress  that  met  in  New  York 
city,  May  23,  1775  ;  was  a  member  of  the  New  York  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  and  commissary-general  of  the  State  troops. 
He,  himself,  served  throughout  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  was  three  times  taken  prisoner  by  the  British,  having 
escaped  from  his  second  capture  only  a  few  days  before  the 
adventure  with  Andre.  His  unswerving  patriotism  is  therefore 


ISAAC  VAN  WART 
Age  66 


Life 

mask   we 


been    made   to   throw 

uf  Andre  by 

immunity  in  which  they  lived.  This 
i  practice  in  a  democracy  like  ours, 
>ed  io  be  equal,  can  cut  *vo  figure  here; 


ary  .8, 

oik 


•  j  r  - 


Life   Masks  33 

established  by  his  personal  service.  Paulding  was  the  one 
who  actually  made  the  arrest  by  seizing  the  bridle  of  Andre's 
horse,  and  he  was  the  leader  and  spokesman  on  the  occasion. 
Nearly  a  decade  after  his  death,  the  corporation  of  the  city 
of  New  York  caused  a  monument  to  be  erected  over  his  grave, 
at  Peekskill,  when  his  nephew,  William  Paulding,  then  Mayor 
of  New  York,  made  the  dedicatory  address.  Rear-Admiral 
Hiram  Paulding  —  who,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  October  20, 
1 878,  was  senior  officer  in  the  United  States  navy — was  his  son, 
and  Commander  Leonard  Paulding,  who  commanded  the  St. 
Louis,  the  first  ironclad  vessel  in  the  United  States  navy,  in  the 
war  of  the  rebellion,  was  his  grandson;  while  James  Kirke 
Paulding,  the  collaborates*  of  Washington  Irving,  in  the  Sal- 
magundi papers,  and  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  President 
Van  Buren,  was  his  nephew.  Surely  this  brief  family  history 
is  sufficient  to  set  at  rest  any  ridiculous  squabbling  as  to  his 
respectability  and  position  in  the  community.  He  very  possi- 
bly wore  the  stigma  of  poverty,  in  which  case  his  refusal  to 
release  Andre,  "  notwithstanding  the  most  earnest  impor- 
tunities and  assurances  of  a  liberal  reward"  only  emphasizes 
him  to  have  been,  in  the  words  of  Washington,  a  man  of 
"  great  virtue." 

Isaac  Van  Wart,  who  next  followed  Paulding  to  the  grave, 
died  at  Mount  Pleasant,  New  York,  on  May  23,  1828,  having 
been  born,  in  Greenburg,  sixty-eight  years  before.  He  was  the 


34  Life   Masks 

youngest  of  the  three  captors.  Van  Wart  was  a  West  Chester 
farmer,  and  a  staunch  adherent  to  the  cause  of  his  country; 
and  there  is  no  more  reason  to  throw  doubt  upon  the  purity 
of  his  motives  in  the  great  affair  of  his  life  than  upon  the  mo- 
tives of  Paulding,  which  are  beyond  questioning.  His  social 
position  also  seems  to  be  established  by  the  fact,  that  he  was 
a  brother  of  Abraham  Van  Wart,  Adjutant  in  the  Continental 
line,  whose  son  Henry  married  the  youngest  sister  of  Washing- 
ton Irving.  Van  Wart's  mask  was  made  by  Browere  at  Tar- 
rytown  in  1826,  and  until  its  discovery  by  the  writer  there 
was  no  likeness  of  him  known  to  be  in  existence. 

David  Williams,  the  eldest  and  the  last  survivor  of  the  three, 
was  born  in  Tarry  town,  October  21,  1754,  dying  near  Living- 
stonville,  August  2,  1831.  He  served  under  Montgomery  in 
the  expedition  to  Canada,  and  remained  actively  in  the  service 
until  disabled  by  frozen  feet.  Many  of  the  details  of  the 
capture  of  Andre  that  we  have,  are  from  Williams's  sworn 
statement,  made  on  the  day  following,  when  everything  was 
perfectly  fresh  in  his  mind.  He  passed  the  closing  years  of 
his  life  on  a  farm  in  the  Catskills,  that  had  belonged  to  the 
leader  of  Shays's  rebellion,  and  it  is  still  in  the  occupancy  of 
Williams's  descendants.  A  monument  has  been  erected  to  his 
memory,  by  the  State  of  New  York,  near  Schoharie  Court 
House. 

Browere    had    great    trouble   in    securing  Williams's   mask. 


DAVID  WILLIAMS 

Age  7  5 


3V   the  writer  the; 


Life   Masks  35 

Twice  he  went  by  sloop  and  on  foot  for  this  purpose  to  the 
latter's  home  at  Schoharie,  only  to  find  the  veteran  absent. 
Finally,  in  1829,  Williams  visited  General  Delavan,  at  Peeks- 
kill,  and  sent  Browere  word,  whereupon  the  artist  went  thither 
and  took  the  mask,  the  only  portrait  extant  of  the  sturdy 
patriot. 

Therefore  to  Browere's  art, —  or  "process,"  whichever  one 
pleases, —  we  owe,  among  other  causes  for  congratulation,  the 
possession  of  the  only  authenticated  likenesses  of  Paulding, 
Williams  and  Van  Wart,  the  three  pure  and  unyielding 
patriots  who  captured  the  unfortunate  Andre,  and  who,  "lean- 
ing only  on  their  virtue  and  an  honest  sense  of  their  duty,  could 
not  be  tempted  by  gold."  Thereby  they  saved  Washington 
and  his  army  from  capture,  and  possibly  preserved  the  infant 
nation  from  a  return  to  servitude.  Each  one  of  them  received 
the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  from  the  State  of  New  York  a 
two-hundred-acre  farm.  "  Vincit  amor  patriae." 


V 


Discovery  of  the  Life  Mask  of  Jefferson 

HAD  been  familiar,  for  years,  with  the  tragic 
story  told  by  Henry  S.  Randall,  in  his  ponder- 
ous life  of  President  Jefferson,1  of  how  the  ven- 
erated sage  of  Monticello,  within  a  year  of  his 
decease,  was  nearly  suffocated,  by  "  an  artist  from 
New  York,"  by  name  Browere,  who  had  attempted  to  take  a 
mask  of  his  living  features ;  and  how,  in  fear  of  bodily  harm 
from  the  ex- President's  irate  black  body-servant,  "  the  artist 
shattered  his  cast  in  an  instant,"  and  was  glad  to  depart  quickly 
with  the  fragments  which  he  was  permitted  to  pick  up. 

This  unvarnished  tale,  copied  word  for  word,  was  put  into 
the  mouth  of  Clark  Mills,  the  sculptor,  by  Ben  Perley  Poore, 
and  published  by  him,  some  years  later,  under  the  caption  of 
"  Jefferson's  Danger."  With  these  statements  fixed  in  my 

1  Randall's  "Life  of  Jefferson,"  1858,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  540. 
36 


Life   Masks  37 

mind,  I  came  across,  while  searching  for  information  anent 
my  article  on  the  "Life  Portraits  of  Thomas  Jefferson,"1  a  letter 
from  James  Madison  to  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  written  October  25, 
1827,  in  which  Madison  writes,  respecting  Jefferson's  appear- 
ance, "  Browere's  bust  in  plaster,  from  his  mode  of  taking  it, 
will  probably  show  a  perfect  likeness."2 

I  was  struck  by  the  utter  inconsistency  of  Randall's  circum- 
stantial account  of  the  shattered  cast,  picked  up  in  fragments, 
with  Madison's  pointed  observations  upon  "  Browere's  bust," 
as  being  in  existence  fifteen  months  after  Jefferson's  death. 

The  latter  directly  negatived  the  former. 

This  made  it  both  interesting  and  important  to  ascertain  the 
exact  status  of  the  subject,  by  tracing  it  to  and  from  the  foun- 
tain source,  a  task  I  found  comparatively  easy  through  the 
calendars  of  Jefferson  and  Madison  Papers,  in  the  State  De- 
partment, at  Washington.  From  an  examination  of  these 
manuscripts,  together  with  the  newspapers  of  the  time,  it  was 
clearly  to  be  seen  that  Mr.  Randall's  method  of  writing  his- 
tory, was  to  accept  and  repeat  irresponsible  country  gossip, 
rather  than  to  turn  to  documents  at  his  hand,  that  would  ex- 
plain and  refute  the  gossip. 

The  existence  at  one  time  of  the  bust  of  Jefferson,  from 
Browere's  life  mask,  being  thus  established,  the  next  and  more 
difficult  quest  was  to  discover  its  whereabouts,  if  still  extant. 

1<fMcClure's  Magazine,"  May,  1898.       2  "  Madison  Papers,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  594. 


38  Life  Masks 

I  instituted  a  systematic  search,  that  gained  for  me  among 
my  friends  the  sobriquet  of  Sherlock  Holmes,  and  my  per- 
sistency was  finally  rewarded  not  only  by  the  discovery  of 
this  bust  of  Jefferson,  but  also  of  all  the  other  busts  that  had 
remained  in  Browere's  possession  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
They  were  in  the  custody  of  a  granddaughter  of  the  artist, 
on  a  farm  near  Rome,  New  York. 

The  positive  statement  of  Randall,  frequently  repeated  by 
others,  the  last  time  unequivocally  by  Mr.  Laurence  Hutton, 
in  his  "Portraits  in  Plaster,"  that  Browere's  mask  from  Jeffer- 
son's face  was  destroyed,  and  the  indisputable  fact  that  the  bust 
from  the  perfect  mask  exists  and  is  here  reproduced,  cause  the 
incidents  connected  with  the  taking  of  this  original  life  mask, 
to  have  an  importance  that  justifies  recording  them  at  length, 
so  that  there  may  remain  no  possibility  for  further  question  or 
doubt  on  the  subject.  My  authorities  are  Jefferson,  Madison 
and  Browere,  as  preserved  in  their  own  autographs,  in  the 
State  Department,  at  Washington. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  born  in  1743  and  died  in  1826,  on 
the  semi-centennial  of  the  adoption  of  the  immortal  instru- 
ment of  which  he  is  the  recognized  father.  Through  the 
intercession  of  President  Madison,  his  friend,  neighbor  and 
successor  in  the  chair  of  state,  Jefferson  consented,  in  Browere's 
words,  "  to  submit  to  the  ordeal  of  my  new  and  perfect  mode 
of  taking  the  human  features  and  form."  For  this  purpose 


Life   Masks  39 

Browere  visited  Monticello,  on  the  fifteenth  of  October,  1825. 
At  this  time  Jefferson  was  eighty-two  years  of  age  and  was 
suffering  the  infirmities  incident  to  his  advanced  years.  Dur- 
ing the  operation,  he  was  attended  by  his  faithful  man-servant 
Burwell,  who  prepared  him  for  "  the  ordeal,"  by  removing  all 
of  his  clothing  to  the  waist,  excepting  his  undershirt,  from 
which  the  sleeves  were  cut.  He  was  then  placed  on  his  back, 
and  the  material  applied  down  to  the  waist,  including  both 
arms  folded  across  the  body.  The  entire  procedure  lasted 
ninety  minutes,  with  rests  every  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  during 
which  rests  Jefferson  got  up  and  walked  about.  The  material 
was  on  Jefferson's  face  for  eighteen  minutes,  and  the  whole  of 
the  mould  of  his  features  was  removed  therefrom  in  three  min- 
utes. This  was  accomplished  before  the  alarmed  entrance  of 
his  granddaughters,  the  Misses  Randolph,  into  the  room. 
They  were  brought  there  by  their  brother,  who  had  been 
peeping  in  at  the  window,  and  begging  for  admission,  which 
was  denied  him.  It  was  the  exaggerated  report  of  what 
young  Randolph  thought  he  saw,  that  induced  the  sudden 
entrance  of  his  sisters,  and  this  report  found  its  way  subse- 
quently into  the  local  newspapers  of  Virginia,  with  the  re- 
markable result  indicated. 

The  intrusion  of  the  Randolphs  into  the  room  caused  delay 
in  removing  other  parts  of  the  mould,  and  this  did  cause  the 
venerable  subject  to  feel  a  little  faint  and  to  experience  some 


40  Life   Masks 

other  discomforts.  But  Browere  remained  at  Monticello  over- 
night, dining  with  Jefferson  and  the  Randolphs,  and  chatting 
with  his  host  through  the  evening  until  bed-time,  which 
would  scarcely  have  been  the  case  had  the  artist  nearly  suffo- 
cated and  otherwise  maltreated  his  subject,  so  that  for  his 
safety,  the  cast  had  to  be  shattered  to  pieces.  But  we  do  not 
have  to  speculate  and  surmise.  We  have  direct  and  unim- 
peachable proof  to  the  contrary. 

The  very  day  on  which,  according  to  Randall  and  his 
followers,  the  "  suffocation "  and  "  shattering "  took  place, 
Jefferson  wrote : 

At  the  request  of  the  Honorable  James  Madison  and  Mr. 
Browere  of  the  city  of  New  York,  I  hereby  certify  that  Mr. 
Browere  has  this  day  made  a  mould  in  plaster  composition 
from  my  person  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  portrait  bust  and 
statue  for  his  contemplated  National  Gallery.  Given  under 
my  hand  at  Monticello,  in  Virginia,  this  1 5th  day  of  October, 
1825.  TH:  JEFFERSON. 

Four  days  later  President  Madison,  who,  with  his  wife,  was 
Browere's  next  subject,  writes:  "A  bust  of  Mr.  Jefferson, taken 
by  Mr.  Browere  from  the  person  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  has  been 
submitted  to  our  inspection  and  appears  to  be  a  faithful  like- 
ness." That  Jefferson  did  suffer  some  inconvenience,  from 
the  application  of  the  wet  material,  is  undeniable.  Three 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

Age  82 


ic    Masb 


Ot.  A»   that   for  his 
ML     But  we  do  not 

totei   aunil   tiaim- 

took    place, 


Life   Masks  41 

days  after  the  taking  of  the  mould  he  wrote  to  Madison :  "  I 
was  taken  in  by  Mr.  Browere.  He  said  his  operation  would 
be  of  about  twenty  minutes  and  less  unpleasant  than  Houdon's 
method.  I  submitted  without  enquiry.  But  it  was  a  bold 
experiment,  on  his  part,  on  the  health  of  an  octogenary  worn 
down  by  sickness  as  well  as  age.  Successive  coats  of  thin 
grout  plastered  on  the  naked  head  and  kept  there  an  hour, 
would  have  been  a  severe  trial  of  a  young  and  hale  man." 

But  the  newspapers  had  gotten  hold  of  the  "  suffocation  " 
and  "  shattering "  story,  and  any  one  familiar  with  the  news- 
papers of  that  day  knows  what  a  scarcity  of  news  there  was. 
Therefore  the  press  over  the  land  laid  the  Virginia  papers 
tribute  for  this  bit  of  sensationalism.  Richmond,  Boston  and 
New  York  vied  with  each  other  in  keeping  the  ball  moving. 
But  "those  teachers  of  disjointed  thinking,"  as  Dr.  Rush  called 
the  public  press,  were  getting  too  rabid  for  Browere,  so  he 
published,  in  the  Boston  "Daily  Advertiser"  of  November  30, 
1825,  a  two-column  letter,  in  which  he  calls  the  attack  by  the 
"Richmond  Enquirer,"  the  most  virulent  of  his  assailants,  "a 
libel  false  in  almost  all  its  parts  and  which  I  am  now  determined 
to  prove  so  by  laying  before  the  public  every  circumstance 
relating  to  that  operation  on  our  revered  ex-president,  Thomas 
Jefferson." 

A  copy  of  this  published  letter  Browere  sent  to  Jefferson 
under  cover  of  the  following  important  but  effusive  epistle  : 


42  Life   Masks 

NEW  YORK,  May  20,  1826. 
Most  Esteemed  and  venerable  Sir : 

As  the  poet  says  "  there  are  strings  in  the  human  heart 
which  once  touched  will  sometimes  utter  dreadful  discord." 
Per  the  public  vehicles  of  information,  the  ex-President  has  per- 
ceived the  very  illiberal  manner  in  which  my  character  and  feel- 
ings have  been  treated,  and  that  of  those  of  his  honor  have  been 
unintentionally  wounded.  Mine  have  been  publickly  assaulted, 
upbraided  and  lacerated.  And  why  ?  Because  through  the 
error  of  youth,  I  unwittingly,  in  a  confidential  letter  to  M.  M. 
Noah,  Esq.,  editor  of  the  New  York  National  Advocate,  had 
written  in  a  style  either  too  familiar  or  that  the  whole  of  said 
letter  (instead  of  extracts  therefrom)  had  been  made  public. 
In  my  address  to  the  Boston  public,  the  ex-president  will  per- 
ceive I  set  down  naught  but  facts.  That  I  intended  not  to 
wound  your  feelings  or  those  of  the  ladies  at  Monticello,  I 
acknowledged  the  urbanity  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  the  hospital- 
ity of  his  family.  Possibly  the  ex-president  is  not  aware  that 
a  young  gentleman,  one  of  his  family,  did,  previous  to  my  de- 
parture from  Monticello,  (the  very  afternoon  of  the  day  on 
which  I  took  the  bust)  go  to  Charlottesville,  and  publickly 
declare  I  had  almost  killed  Mr.  Jefferson,  first  almost  separat- 
ing the  ears,  cutting  the  skull  and  suffocating  him.  What 
were  my  feelings  ?  What !  would  not  any  man  of  spirit  and 
enterprise  resent  such  assertions  and  rebut  them  ?  I  was  in 


Life   Masks  43 

this  state  of  feeling  when  I  indited  the  letter  to  M.  M. 
Noah,  which  letter  I  fear  has  forfeited  me  your  confidence 
and  regard.  But  a  letter  confidential  and  therefore  not  to  be 
attributed  as  malign  or  censorious. 

Your  character  I  have  always  esteemed,  and  I  now  intend 
evidencing  that  regard  by  making  a  full-length  statue  of  the 
"  Author  of  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence,"  which 
(if  the  president  be  not  in  New  York  on  the  4th  of  July  next) 
I  intend  presenting  for  that  day  to  the  Honorable  the  Corpo- 
ration of  New  York,  to  be  publickly  exhibited  to  all  who  de- 
sire to  view  the  beloved  features  of  the  friend  of  science  and 
of  liberty. 

The  attitude  of  your  statue  will  be  standing  erect;  the  left 
hand  resting  on  the  hip;  the  right  hand  extended  and  holding 
the  unfolded  scroll,  whereon  is  written  the  Declaration  of 
American  Independence.  If  possible,  History,  Painting,  Sculp- 
ture, Poetry  and  Fame  will  be  attendant.  The  portrait  busts 
of  Washington,  John  Adams,  Franklin,  Madison,  John  Q. 
Adams,  Lafayette,  Clinton  and  Jay,  will  be  on  shields,  hung 
on  the  column  of  Independence,  surmounted  with  the  figure 
of  Victory.  May  you  enjoy  health,  peace  and  competence. 
May  the  God  of  nature  continue  to  shower  down  his  choicest 
blessings  on  your  head  and  finally  receive  you  to  himself  is 
the  prayer  of  your  sincere  friend, 

J.  H.  I.  BROWERE. 


44  Life   Masks 

This  communication  Jefferson  acknowledged,  within  a  month 
of  his  decease,  in  a  letter  of  such  ruling  importance  in  this  con- 
nection, as  it  settles  the  question  forever,  that  I  am  glad  of  the 
opportunity  to  publish  it  in  full. 

MONTICELLO,  June  6,  '26. 
Sir: 

The  subject  of  your  letter  of  May  20,  has  attracted  more 
notice  certainly  than  it  merited.  That  the  opere  to  which 
it  refers  was  painful  to  a  certain  degree  I  admit.  But  it  was 
short  lived  and  there  would  have  ended  as  to  myself.  My 
age  and  the  state  of  my  health  at  that  time  gave  an  alarm  to 
my  family  which  I  neither  felt  nor  expressed.  What  may 
have  been  said  in  newspapers  I  know  not,  reading  only  a  single 
one  and  that  giving  little  room  to  things  of  that  kind.  I 
thought  no  more  of  it  until  your  letter  brot.  it  again  to 
mind,  but  can  assure  you  it  has  left  not  a  trace  of  dissatisfac- 
tion as  to  yourself  and  that  with  me  it  is  placed  among  the 
things  which  have  never  happened.  Accept  this  assurance 

with  my  friendly  salutes. 

TH:  JEFFERSON. 

Notwithstanding  this  "very  kind  and  consolatory  letter,"  as 
Browere  had  good  reason  to  call  it,  the  report  that  the  venera- 
ble Jefferson  had  been  nearly  suffocated  and  otherwise  mal- 


Life   Masks  45 

treated  by  the  artist,  was  so  widely  circulated  that  Browere's 
career  was  seriously  affected  by  it;  and  so  much  easier  is  it  to 
disseminate  error  than  truth,  that  his  hopes  were  not  fulfilled 
that  the  publication  of  Jefferson's  letter  would,  as  he  wrote  to 
Madison,  "in  some  manner  turn  the  current  of  popular  preju- 
dice, which  at  present  is  great  against  my  modus  operandi" 

In  acknowledging  Jefferson's  letter  of  the  6th,  Browere 
writes  concerning  the  statue :  "  On  the  very  day  of  the  receipt 
of  yours,  the  I3th  inst.,  I  had  completed  your  full  length 
statue  (nudity)  and  to-morrow  I  intend,  if  spared,  to  commence 
dressing  it  in  the  costume  you  wore  at  the  time  of  your  de- 
livery of  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence.  Under- 
standing that  your  dress  corresponded  with  that  of  Mr. 
Laurens,  President  of  Congress  in  1778,  I  have  commenced 
the  suit.  But  if  Mr.  Jefferson  would  condescend  to  give  a 
full  and  explicit  account  of  the  form  and  colour  of  his  dress, 
at  that  very  interesting  period,  he  will  be  conferring  a  particu- 
lar favor  on  me  and  on  the  whole  American  Nation.  Dispatch 
in  forwarding  the  same  will  be  pleasing  to  the  Honorable  the 
Common  Council  of  New  York,  for  whom  I  am  preparing 
your  statue  for  the  4th  of  July  1826." 

An  examination  of  such  of  the  New  York  newspapers  of 
the  period  as  could  be  found,  fails  to  reveal  any  mention  of  this 
remarkable,  colored  and  habited,  statue  of  Jefferson,  our  whole 
knowledge  of  which  is  derived  from  the  letters  of  the  artist. 


46  Life   Masks 

It  would  seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  Eden  Musee  variety 
of  freaks,  from  Browere's  own  description  of  it.  Here  is  what 
he  writes  to  Madison  from  New  York,  July  17,  1826:  "You 
are  aware  that  two  months  ago  I  tendered  to  the  Common 
Council  of  New  York,  my  services  and  those  of  my  son  to 
complete  a  full  length  figure  or  statue  of  Jefferson.  The 
memorial  was  unanimously  accepted  and  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Arts  and  Sciences,  who  would  superintend  its  being 
placed  in  the  Banqueting  Room  of  the  Common  Council,  on 
the  approaching  anniversary  or  jubilee.  Without  money  and 
without  power  I  was  enabled  in  five  weeks  of  unremitting 
exertions,  to  finish  and  place  it  in  the  Hall,  exactly  at  the 
hour  of  the  dissolution  of  Mr.  Jefferson."  It  may  not  be  un- 
amusing  to  read  a  description  of  his  statue  in  the  City  Hall 
banqueting-room. 

"His  lofty  and  majestic  figure  standing  erect;  his  mild  blue 
and  expressive  eyes  beaming  with  intelligence  and  good  will 
to  his  fellow  men.  The  scroll  of  the  Declaration,  which  gave 
freedom  to  millions,  clutched  in  his  extended  right  hand, 
strongly  contrasted  with  the  decrepitude  of  his  elder  associate, 
the  venerable  John  Adams,  gave  an  effect  to  the  whole  which 
will  not  ever  be  forgotten  here.  His  left  hand  resting  on  the 
hip,  gave  a  carelessness  yet  dignified  ease  that  pleased  thou- 
sands. On  his  right  hand  was  the  portrait  bust  of  the  venera- 
ble Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  like  that  of  Adams,  clothed 


Life   Masks  47 

with  white  drapery.  Beside  and  behind  these  figures  were 
placed  various  flowers  and  shrubbery.  Immediately  over  the 
head  of  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  American  Indepen- 
dence hovered  the  American  Eagle;  a  civic  crown  suspending 
from  his  beak  was  ready  to  drop  on  the  temples  and  crown 
with  immortal  honors  the  wisest  and  best  of  men.  His  like- 
ness is  perfect.  If  the  congratulations  of  Governor  De  Witt 
Clinton,  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  the  City  authorities  of  New 
York  and  the  general  mass  of  reputable  lives,  can  affix  the  seal 
of  truth  in  likeness,  rest  assured  the  beloved  features  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten. 

"Now  should  the  University  of  Virginia  desire  to  erect  in 
marble  or  bronze  a  statue  to  the  memory  of  its  founder  be 
pleased,  Sir,  to  note  that  I  will  be  ready  at  all  times  to  com- 
plete such  a  work.  Moreover  that,  should  appropriate  funds 
at  this  period  be  lacking,  it  matters  not :  I  will  furnish  one 
and  await  the  pleasure  of  the  institution  for  pecuniary  emolu- 
ment. All  that  would  be  required  at  first,  would  be  a  suffi- 
ciency to  defray  actual  expenditures  for  materials  and  the 
indispensable  requisites  to  the  support  of  my  young  family. 
Should  this  proposition  meet  the  approval  of  the  visitors  of  the 
Virginia  University  and  the  citizens  at  large,  a  satisfactory 
answer  will  meet  with  my  cordial  thanks." 

Evidently  the  University  of  Virginia  did  not  accept  Brow- 
ere's  proposition,  as  the  only  statue  of  its  founder  and  architect, 


48  Life  Masks 

now  to  be  seen  there  is  an  extremely  bad  one  by  a  sculptor 
named  Gait;  and  no  trace  of  Browere's  curious  work  has  up 
to  the  present  time  been  found.  Save  for  the  truth  of  history, 
silence  concerning  it  would  seem  to  have  been  most  expe- 
dient for  Browere's  reputation  as  a  serious  artist. 

Surely  this  story  is  as  interesting  as  a  romance,  and  but  for 
fiction  it  might  never  have  been  told.  How  dare  any  man 
assume  to  write  history  and  set  down  on  his  pages  such  state- 
ments, as  did  Randall  about  Browere's  mask  of  the  living  Jef- 
ferson, without  first  exhausting  every  channel  of  inquiry  and 
every  means  of  search  and  research  to  ascertain  the  truth  ? 
The  material  that  I  have  drawn  from  was  as  accessible  to  Mr. 
Randall  as  it  has  been  to  me ;  in  fact,  he  claims  to  have  used 
the  Jefferson  papers  in  his  compilation.  It  is  true  we  have 
acquired  more  exact  and  scientific  methods  of  writing  history 
than  were  in  vogue  when  Randall  wrote,  a  generation  or  more 
ago.  Yet  this  will  not  excuse  his  positive  misstatements  and 
false  assumptions.  The  existence  of  an  opportunity  for  such 
severe  criticism  only  serves  to  emphasize  the  great  necessity  of 
observing  the  inflexible  rule :  take  nothing  for  granted  and 
nothing  at  second  hand,  without  the  most  careful  investigation 
and  scrutiny.  If  the  standard  of  life's  ordinary  action  should 
be  the  precept  "  Whatever  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing 
well,"  with  what  intensified  force  does  it  apply  to  the  writing 
of  history  !  Pains,  infinite  pains,  are  the  requisites  for  good 


Life  Masks 


49 


work.  Nothing  meritorious  is  ever  accomplished  without  hard 
labor.  Toil  conquers  everything;  without  it,  the  result  is  at 
best  uncertain.  While  it  is  some  gratification  to  have  set 
wrong  right  and  done  tardy  justice  to  Browere's  reputation, 
it  is  a  far  greater  satisfaction  to  have  rescued  from  oblivion 
and  presented  to  the  world  his  magnificent  facsimile  of  the 
face  and  form  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 


VI 


Three  Generations  of  Adamses 


(HE  allied  families  of  Adams  and  Quincy  are 
the  only  instances  in  this  country,  that  present 
themselves  to  my  mind,  of  hereditary  ability 
manifesting  itself  and  being  recognized  in  the 
public  service,  for  three  and  more  generations. 
The  Quincy  family  has  done  its  work  in  local  and  more  nar- 
row spheres  than  the  Adamses;  yet  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  of 
Boston  Port  Bill  fame,  and  his  son,  bearing  the  same  name, 
who  for  so  many  years  was  at  the  head  of  Harvard  University, 
have  had  a  wide  field  for  the  spread  of  their  influence.  But 
the  Adams  family  is  the  only  one  that  has  given  father  and 
son  to  the  Presidential  chair,  and  father,  son  and  grandson  to 
the  English  mission.  The  series  of  double  coincidences  in 
the  Adams  family  connected  with  missions  to  England  and 
treaties  with  that  power,  is  most  curious.  John  Adams,  just 

5° 


JOHN  ADAMS 
Age  90 


and   Quiftcv  are 


01 


/;HO| 


Life   Masks  51 

after  having  served  as  a  commissioner  to  arrange  the  treaty  of 
peace  that  concluded  the  Revolutionary  War,  was  made  min- 
ister to  the  court  of  St.  James ;  his  son  John  Quincy  Adams, 
immediately  after  signing  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  that  concluded 
the  war  of  1812-15,  was  appointed  minister  to  the  same 
court ;  and  his  grandson,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  minister 
to  England  during  the  entire  Civil  War,  took  part  in  the 
treaty  that  disposed  of  the  Alabama  question. 

John  Adams  was  born  in  1735  and  died  in  1826.  The 
coincidences  in  his  career,  parallel  with  events  in  the  career  of 
Jefferson,  are  very  remarkable.  They  were  both  on  the  com- 
mittee of  five  to  draft  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  they 
both  signed  that  American  Magna  Charta;  they  both  repre- 
sented this  country  in  France ;  they  both  became  successively 
Vice-President  and  then  President  of  these  United  States,  being 
the  only  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  thus  ele- 
vated to  the  chair  of  state ;  and  they  both  died,  within  a  few 
hours  of  each  other,  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Is  it  possible  that  more 
curious  historical  parallels  can  be  found  in  the  lives  of  any 
two  men  ? 

From  Monticello,  the  home  of  Jefferson,  Browere  journeyed 
to  Quincy,  the  home  of  Adams,  in  order  to  secure  a  mask  of 
the  face  of  the  distinguished  nonagenarian.  But  the  Virginian 
story  of  the  maltreatment  of  Jefferson  had  gotten  there  before 


52  Life  Masks 

him,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  Browere  could  persuade 
Mr.  Adams  to  submit.  However,  the  old  Spartan  finally 
yielded,  and  submitted  not  only  once  but  twice,  as  appears  by 
his  certificate: 

QUINCY,  MASS.,  Nov.  23,  1825. 

This  certifies  that  John  H.  I.  Browere  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  has  yesterday  and  to-day  made  two  Portrait  bust  moulds 
on  my  person  and  made  a  cast  of  the  first  which  has  been 
approved  of  by  friends.  JOHN  ADAMS. 

To  this  certificate,  his  son,  Judge  Thomas  B.  Adams,  added 
a  postscript : 

"  I  am  authorized  by  the  ex- President  to  say  that  the  moulds 
were  made  on  his  person  without  injury,  pain  or  incon- 


venience/3 


The  bust  from  the  mask  of  old  John  Adams  is,  next  to  that 
of  Jefferson,  the  most  interesting  of  Browere's  works.  I  do 
not  mean  for  the  subject,  but  for  its  truthful  realism.  There 
is  an  unhesitating  feeling  of  real  presence  conveyed  by  Brow- 
ere's busts  that  is  given  by  no  other  likeness.  They  present 
living  qualities  and  characteristics  wanting  in  the  painted  and 
sculptured  portraits  of  the  same  persons.  Such  a  comparison 
is  easily  made  in  the  instance  of  John  Adams,  for  the  same 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS 
Age  58 


(iM/-.(IA 

8? 


JOHN    .\Dr\MS. 


Life  Masks  53 

year  as  that  in  which  Browere  made  his  life  masks,  Gilbert 
Stuart  painted  his  famous  portrait  of  "  John  Adams  at  the  age 
of  ninety";  and  Browere's  bust  will  bear  comparison  with 
Stuart's  portrait.  I  must  tell  a  story  connected  with  the  paint- 
ing of  this  portrait  by  Stuart,  which,  while  a  little  out  of  place, 
especially  as  we  have  a  chapter  devoted  to  Gilbert  Stuart, 
comes  in  better  here  than  there.  Stuart  had  painted  a  portrait 
of  John  Adams  as  a  younger  man.  It  is  the  familiar  portrait 
of  the  great  statesman  by  that  artist.  John  Quincy  Adams 
was  desirous  that  Stuart  should  paint  another  of  his  father  at 
the  advanced  age  of  ninety,  and  applied  to  the  artist  for  the 
purpose.  But  Stuart  was  too  old  to  go  down  to  Quincy,  and 
John  Adams  was  too  old  to  come  up  to  Boston.  Finally, 
Stuart  agreed  that  he  would  go  down  to  Quincy,  for  the  pur- 
pose, if  he  were  paid  half  of  the  price  of  the  picture  before 
he  went.  To  this  John  Quincy  Adams  gladly  assented,  and 
Stuart  went  to  Quincy  and  had  the  first  sitting.  Then  John 
Quincy  Adams  could  not  get  Stuart  to  go  down  for  a  second 
sitting,  and,  as  his  father  was  past  ninety,  he  feared  he  might 
die  before  the  picture  was  finished.  He  at  last  succeeded  in 
getting  Stuart  to  go  down  for  a  second  sitting  by  paying  him 
the  balance  of  the  price  of  the  picture.  Then  the  artist  would 
not  go  down  to  finish  it,  and  the  only  way  John  Quincy 
Adams  got  him  to  complete  the  portrait  was  by  promising 
him,  if  he  would  make  the  journey  and  do  the  work,  he  would 


54  Life   Masks 

pay  him  the  agreed  price  over  again.  This  is  only  one  of 
many  illustrations  of  the  character  of  the  greatest  portrait- 
painter  this  country  has  produced,  and  the  peer  of  any  por- 
trait-painter who  has  ever  lived. 

Browere  broke  his  journey  from  Virginia  to  Massachusetts 
by  a  rest  at  the  country's  capital,  and  while  there  he  took  a 
mask  of  the  ruling  President,  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  one 
of  his  young  son,  Charles  Francis  Adams.  It  was  this  young 
man  who  wrote  to  Browere  as  follows: 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  October  [28],  1825. 

The  president  requests  me  to  state  to  Mr.  Browere  that  he 
will  be  able  to  give  him  two  hours  tomorrow  morning  at 
seven  o'clock  at  his  (Mr.  Browere's)  rooms  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue.  He  is  so  much  engaged  at  present  that  this  is  the 
only  time  he  can  conveniently  spare  for  the  purpose  of  your 

executing  his  portrait  bust  from  life. 

C.  F.  ADAMS. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  the  sixth  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  in  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  July  1 1,  1767, 
and  died  in  the  Speaker's  room  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives at  Washington,  February  28,  1848.  He  has  been  called 
the  most  cultivated  occupant  that  the  Presidential  chair  has 
ever  had;  but  his  administration  was  unimportant,  and  he  per- 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS 
Age  1 8 


lows' 


nit    that  tv 

•:  wa;   ;.ir 


Life   Masks  55 

sonally  was  the  most  unpopular  man  who  has  yet  achieved  the 
high  office.  He  seems  to  have  anticipated  Whistler  in  the 
"gentle  art  of  making  enemies." 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  Browere's  busts  is  the  youthful 
head  of  Charles  Francis  Adams,  made  when  Mr.  Adams  had 
just  passed  his  eighteenth  birthday,  he  having  been  born 
August  1 8,  1807,  in  Boston,  where  he  died  November  21, 
1886.  The  services  of  Mr.  Adams  to  his  country,  as  minister 
to  England  from  1861  to  1868,  covering  the  entire  period 
of  the  war  between  the  States,  can  never  be  forgotten  or  over- 
estimated, and  will  remain  among  the  foremost  triumphs 
of  American  diplomacy. 

It  is  certainly  of  curious  interest  to  have  busts  of  three 
generations,  in  one  family,  made  by  the  same  hand  and  within 
a  few  days  of  each  other,  as  is  the  case  with  Browere's  casts 
of  John,  John  Quincy,  and  Charles  Francis  Adams. 


VII 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison 


JMMY'  MADISON  and  his  wife  "Dolly" 
were  prominent  characters  in  social  as  well  as 
in  public  life.  He  early  made  a  name  for  him- 
self by  his  knowledge  of  constitutional  law,  and 
acquired  fame  by  the  practical  use  he  made  of 
his  knowledge,  in  the  creation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  its  interpretation  in  the  celebrated  letters  of  the 
"Federalist."  With  the  close  of  Washington's  administration 
Madison  determined  to  retire  to  private  life,  but  shortly  before 
this  he  met  the  coy  North  Carolina  Quakeress,  Dorothea 
Payn.  She  was  at  the  time  the  young  widow  of  John  Todd, 
to  whom  she  had  been  married  not  quite  a  year,  and  Madison 
made  her  his  wife. 

James  Madison  was  born  in   1751   and  Dorothea  Payn  in 
1772,  but  the  score  and  one  years'  difference  in  their  ages  did 

56 


JAMES  MADISON 
Age  74 


us   wife  "Dolly" 


of  the 


3^  A 


Life   Masks  57 

not  prevent  them  from  enjoying  a  married  life  of  two  score 
and  two  years  of  unclouded  happiness.  Madison  died  in  1836, 
and  was  survived  by  Mrs.  Madison  for  thirteen  years. 

Madison's  temperament,  like  that  of  his  young  bride,  was 
tuned  to  too  high  a  pitch  to  be  contented  with  quietness  after 
the  excitement  incident  to  his  earlier  career.  Therefore  his 
retirement,  like  stage  farewells,  was  only  temporary,  and  he 
became  afterward  the  fourth  President  of  the  United  States. 
As  we  have  seen,  it  was  Madison  who  brought  Browere  to  the 
notice  of  Jefferson,  and  Browere  was  commended  to  Madison 
in  the  following  letter  from  General  Jacob  Brown,  the  land 
hero  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  later  Commander-in-chief  of 
the  Army  of  the  United  States : 


WASHINGTON  CITY,  Oct.  ist,  1825. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

Mr.  Browere  waits  on  you  and  Mrs.  Madison  with  the 
expectation  of  being  permitted  to  take  your  portrait  busts  from 
the  life.  As  I  have  a  sincere  regard  for  him  as  a  gentleman 
and  a  scholar,  and  great  confidence  in  his  skill  as  an  artist 
(he  having  made  two  busts  of  myself),  in  the  art  which  he  is 
cultivating,  I  name  him  to  you  with  much  pleasure  as  being 
worthy  of  your  encouragement  and  patronage.  I  am  inter- 
ested in  having  Mr.  Browere  take  your  likeness,  for  I  have 


58  Life   Masks 

long  been  desirous  to  obtain  a  perfect  one  of  you.  From 
what  I  have  seen  and  heard  of  Mr.  Browere's  efforts  to  copy 
nature,  I  hope  to  receive  from  his  hands  that  desideratum  in  a 
faithful  facsimile  of  my  esteemed  friend  ex-President  Madison. 
Be  pleased  to  present  my  most  respectful  regards  to  Mrs. 
Madison,  and  believe  me  alway 

Your  most  devoted  friend, 

JACOB  BROWN. 

From  this  introduction  Browere  seems  to  have  gained  the 
friendship  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison,  who  took  more  than  an 
ordinary  interest  in  the  artist  and  his  family.  They  were  on 
terms  of  familiar  intercourse,  and  an  infant,  born  to  Mrs. 
Browere,  July  3,  1826,  was,  by  Mrs.  Madison's  permission, 
named  for  her.  Some  years  later  this  child  accompanied  her 
parents  on  an  extended  visit  to  Montpelier. 

That  Madison  was  satisfied  with  the  result  of  Browere's 
skill  is  shown  by  the  following : 

Per  request  of  Mr.  Browere,  busts  of  myself  and  of  my 
wife,  regarded  as  exact  likenesses,  have  been  executed  by  him 
in  plaister,  being  casts  made  from  the  moulds  formed  on  our 
persons,  of  which  this  certificate  is  given  under  my  hand  at 

Montpelier,  19,  October,  1825. 

JAMES  MADISON. 


DOLLY"   MADISON 

Age  53 


Life 


'Y..LIOG 


ted  the 


Life   Masks  59 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison  each  submitted  to  Browere's  process 
a  second  time,  which  is  sufficient  evidence  that  the  ordeal  was 
not  severe  and  hazardous.  The  bust  of  Madison  is  very  fine 
in  character  and  expression,  but  that  of  Mrs.  Madison  is  of 
particular  interest,  as  being  the  only  woman's  face  handed 
down  to  us  by  Browere.  Her  great  beauty  has  been  heralded 
by  more  than  one  voice  and  one  pen,  but  not  one  of  the  many 
portraits  that  we  have  of  her,  from  that  painted  by  Gilbert 
Stuart,  aged  about  thirty,  to  the  one  drawn  by  Mr.  Eastman 
Johnson,  shortly  before  her  death,  sustains  the  verbal  verdict 
of  her  admirers;  and  now  the  life  mask  by  Browere  would 
seem  to  settle  the  question  of  her  beauty  in  the  negative. 

"  Dolly"  Madison  was  in  her  fifty  and  third  year  when  Brow- 
ere made  his  mask  of  her  face,  and  she  lived  on  for  a  quarter 
century.  She  has  always  been  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere 
of  personal  interest,  not  so  much  for  what  she  was  as  for  what 
she  was  supposed  to  be.  She  doubtless  possessed  a  charm  of 
manner  that  made  her  a  most  attractive  hostess  at  the  White 
House  during  her  reign  of  eight  years,  in  which  particular  she 
shares  the  laurels  with  the  winsome  wife  of  Mr.  Cleveland. 


VIII 


Charles  Carroll  of  Carrol/ton 


)HE  last  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  to  be  gathered  to  his  fathers, 
was  the  distinguished  Marylander,  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who  so  signed  his  name 
to  distinguish  himself  from  a  younger  kins- 
man of  the  same  name,  his  object  being  merely  purposes  of 
convenience,  and  not  the  patriotic  purpose  of  identifying  him- 
self to  the  British,  as  is  commonly  stated.  Charles  Carroll 
was  not  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  when  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted,  but  took  his  seat  a 
fortnight  afterward,  in  time  to  sign  the  instrument  with  the 
rest  of  the  sitting  delegates,  when  it  was  placed  before  them 
on  August  2,  1776. 

Mr.   Carroll  died  November   14,  1832,  in  his   ninety-sixth 

60 


CHARLES  CARROLL  OF  CARROLLTON 

Age  88 


HOTJJO&flA'j  HO  ,U(.»i>iArJ  BHJflAH'J 
8H  33  A 


>ses  of 


I  J  ! 


Life   Masks  61 

year,  and  his  last  public  act  was  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  on  July  4,  1828.  From  the 
description  of  his  personal  appearance  at  this  time,  as  given  by 
Hon.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  it  would  seem  as  if  it  had  been 
written  of  Browere's  bust,  so  true  is  Browere's  work  to  the 
life.  Mr.  Latrobe  says  :  "  In  my  mind's  eye  I  see  Mr.  Carroll 
now  —  a  small,  attenuated  old  man,  with  a  prominent  nose 
and  receding  chin,  [and]  small  eyes  that  sparkled  when  he  was 
interested  in  conversation.  His  head  was  small  and  his  hair 
white,  rather  long  and  silky,  while  his  face  and  forehead  were 
seamed  with  wrinkles." 

At  the  present  time,  when  foreign  matrimonial  alliances  of 
high  degree,  with  American  women,  are  of  almost  daily 
occurrence,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  among  the  first  Ameri- 
can women  to  marry  into  the  nobility  of  England  were  three 
granddaughters  of  the  "  signer,"  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton. 
They  were  the  children  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Caton,  and 
became  respectively  the  Marchioness  of  Wellesley,  the  Duchess 
of  Leeds,  and  Lady  Stafford. 

Browere,  when  he  presented  himself  to  Mr.  Carroll  for  the 
purpose  of  making  his  mask,  was  armed  with  the  following 
letter  from  the  eminent  scientist,  Doctor  Samuel  Latham 
Mitchill,  which  contains  the  super-added  endorsements  of 
Archibald  Robertson,  Richard  Riker  and  M.  M.  Noah  : 


62  Life   Masks 

NEW  YORK,  July  8,  1825. 
My  dear  Sir: 

I  approve  your  design  of  executing  a  likeness  in  statuary  of 
the  Honorable  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  When  you  shall 
present  yourself  to  him  within  a  few  days,  I  authorize  you  to 
employ  my  testimony  in  favor  of  your  skill,  having  submitted 
more  than  once  to  your  plastic  operation.  I  know  that  you 
can  perform  it  successfully  without  pain  and  within  a  reason- 
able time.  The  likenesses  you  have  made  are  remarkably 
exact,  so  much  so  that  they  may  be  truly  called  facsimile  imi- 
tations of  the  life.  Your  gallery  contains  so  many  specimens 
of  correct  casts  that  not  only  common  observers,  but  even 
critical  judges  bear  witness  to  your  industry,  genius  and  talents. 
I  foresee  that  your  collection  of  busts  already  well  advanced 
and  rapidly  enlarging,  will,  if  your  labors  continue,  become  a 
depositary  of  peculiar  and  intrinsic  value.  Without  instituting 
any  invidious  comparison  between  sister  arts,  the  professional 
branch  under  which  you  address  Mr.  Carroll,  possesses,  in  my 
humble  opinion,  all  the  superiority  that  sculpture  exercises  over 
music  and  painting. 

Yours,  with  kind  feelings  and  fervent  wishes  for  success, 

SAMUEL  L.  MITCHILL. 


IX 


The  Nation's  Guest 

La  Fayette 

ILBERT  MOTIER  DE  LA  FAYETTE,  who 

had  fought  side  by  side  with  Washington  at 
Brandywine  and  at  Yorktown,  made  his  third 
and  last  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1824. 
Landing  at  Castle  Garden,  in  New  York,  on 
August  1 5th  of  that  year,  he  set  sail  thirteen  months  later,  on 
September  yth,  1825,  to  return  to  France,  in  the  frigate  Brandy- 
wine.  He  came  as  the  invited  guest  of  the  nation,  and  during 
his  sojourn  here  travelled  over  the  whole  country,  visiting 
each  one  of  the  twenty-four  States  and  receiving  one  con- 
tinuous ovation. 

At  the  request  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  New 

York,  La  Fayette   permitted  Browere  to   make  a   cast  of  his 

63 


64  Life   Masks 

head,  neck  and  shoulders  on  July  11,  1825.  For  this  purpose 
La  Fayette  visited  Browere's  workshop,  in  the  rear  of  No.  315 
Broadway,  New  York,  accompanied  by  Richard  Riker,  Elisha 
W.  King  and  Henry  I.  WyckofF,  a  committee  of  the  Common 
Council.  The  composition  had  been  applied  and  had  set,  and 
Browere  was  about  taking  it  off,  when  the  clock  struck,  and 
one  of  the  committee  remarked  that  the  hour  for  the  corpora- 
tion dinner  in  honor  of  La  Fayette,  and  which  he  was  to 
attend,  had  arrived.  " Sacre  bleu!"  said  La  Fayette,  starting 
up,  "Take  it  off!  Take  it  off!"  which  caused  a  piece  to  fall 
out  from  under  one  of  the  eyes.  This  accident,  which  neces- 
sitated a  second  sitting,  led  to  some  interesting  correspondence. 


NEW  YORK,  Tuesday  12  o'clock, 

July  12,  1825. 
Dear  General: 

We  have  just  been  to  see  your  bust  by  Mr.  Browere  and 
have  pleasure  in  saying  it  is  vastly  superior  to  any  other  like- 
ness of  General  La  Fayette,  which  as  yet  has  fallen  under  our 
inspection.  Indeed  it  is  a  faithful  resemblance  in  every  part 
of  your  features  and  form,  from  the  head  to  the  breast,  with 
the  exception  of  a  slight  defect  about  the  left  eye,  caused  by 
a  loss  of  the  material  of  which  the  mould  was  made.  This 
defect  or  deficiency  Mr.  Browere  assures  us,  and  we  have  con- 


Life   Masks  65 

fidence  in  his  assertion,  that  he  can  correct  in  a  few  minutes 
and  without  giving  you  any  pain,  provided  you  will  again  con- 
descend to  his  operations,  for  a  limited  time.  We  should 
much  regret  that  this  slight  blemish  should  not  be  corrected, 
which  if  not  done  will  cause  to  us  and  to  the  Nation  a  con- 
tinued source  of  chagrin  and  disappointment. 

Most  truly  your  Friends 

RICHARD  RIKER 
ELISHA  W.  KING 
HENRY  I.  WYCKOFF. 

This  letter  was  followed  two  days  later  by  the  following  to 
Browere  : 


NEW  YORK  i4th  July  1825. 

Dear  Sir: 

Every  exertion  has  been  made  to  get  General  La  Fayette  to 
spend  half  an  hour  with  you,  so  the  eye  of  his  portrait  bust  be 
completed,  but  in  vain.  He  has  not  had  more  than  four 
hours  each  night  to  sleep,  but  has  consented  that  you  may 
take  his  mask  in  Philadelphia.  He  left  New  York  this  morn- 
ing at  eight  o'clock  and  will  be  in  Philadelphia  on  Monday 
next,  where  he  will  remain  three  days.  If  you  can  be  present 
there  on  Monday  or  Tuesday  at  furthest,  you  can  complete 


66  Life   Masks 

the  matter.      He    has   pledged  his   word.      This    arrangement 
was  all  that  could  be  effected  by 

Your  friend 

ELISHA  W.  KING. 

P.  S.  Previous  to  going  get  a  line  from  the  Recorder  or 
Committee. 

Upon  this  letter  Browere  has  endorsed: 

NOTE. —  The  subscribing  artist  met  the  General  on  Monday, 
in  the  Hall  of  Independence,  Philadelphia,  and  Tuesday  morn- 
ing [July  19,  1825]  from  seven  to  eight  o'clock  was  busy  in 
making  another  likeness  from  the  face  and  head  of  the  Gen- 
eral. At  4  p.  M.  of  that  day  he  finished  the  bust  under  the 
eye  of  the  General  and  his  attendant,  and  had  the  satisfaction 
then  of  receiving  from  the  General  the  assurance  that  it  was 
the  only  good  bust  ever  made  of  him. 

JOHN  H.  I.  BROWERE. 

The  result  of  the  second  trial  was  a  likeness  so  admirable 
and  of  such  remarkable  fidelity,  that  General  Jacob  Morton, 
Rembrandt  Peale,  De  Witt  Clinton,  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  John  A. 
Graham,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  others,  came  forward  and 
enthusiastically  bore  witness  to  its  being  "a  perfect  facsimile" 
of  the  distinguished  Frenchman.  The  written  commenda- 


THE  MARQUIS  DE  LA  FAYETTE 

Age  67 


Life   M 


and  others,  *,*nie  tbrw 


Life  Masks  67 

tions  of  Peale  and  Morse  are  notably  interesting  as  the  views 
of  two  brother  artists,  each  of  whom  had  painted  a  portrait  of 
La  Fayette.  Rembrandt  Peale,  widely  known  by  his  composite 
portrait  of  Washington,  writes  : 


NEW  YORK  August  loth  1825. 

The  singular  excellence  shown  by  Mr.  Browere  in  his 
new  method  of  executing  Portrait  busts  from  the  life  deserves 
the  applause  and  patronage  of  his  countrymen.  The  bust  of 
La  Fayette,  which  he  has  just  finished,  is  an  admirable  demon- 
stration of  his  talent  in  this  department  of  the  Fine  Arts.  The 
accuracy  with  which  he  has  moulded  the  entire  head,  neck 
and  shoulders  from  the  life  and  his  skill  in  finishing,  render 
this  bust  greatly  superior  to  any  we  have  seen.  It  is  in  truth 
a  "  faithful  and  a  living  likeness."  Of  this  I  may  judge  having 
twice  painted  the  General's  portrait  from  the  life,  once  at 

Paris  and  recently  at  Washington. 

REMBRANDT  PEALE. 

Samuel  Finley  Breese  Morse  was,  at  the  period  of  which  we 
write,  an  artist  of  some  reputation  as  a  portrait-painter,  and  he 
was  under  commission,  from  the  corporation  of  New  York,  to 
paint  a  whole-length  portrait  of  La  Fayette  for  the  City  Hall, 
where  it  now  hangs.  Its  chief  interest  is  as  a  study  of  costume ; 


68  Life   Masks 

for  if  Browere's  bust  is  "a  perfect  facsimile"  of  La  Fayette's 
form  and  features,  true  to  life,  Morse's  portrait  is  a  caricature. 
That  Morse  was  destined  to  greater  ends  than  painting  mediocre 
portraits,  was  shown,  a  decade  later,  by  his  invention  of  the 
magnetic  electric  telegraph,  a  discovery  of  such  importance 
that  while  millions  of  human  beings  know  Morse  the  inventor, 
not  a  dozen  perhaps  ever  heard  of  Morse  the  painter.  He 
damns  his  own  portrait  of  La  Fayette  by  the  following  com- 
mendation of  Browere's  bust: 


NEW  YORK  August  15,  1825. 

Being  requested  by  Mr.  Browere  to  give  my  opinion  of 
his  bust  or  cast  from  the  person  of  General  La  Fayette,  I  feel 
no  hesitation  in  saying  it  appears  to  me  to  be  a  perfect  fac- 
simile of  the  General's  face. 

SAML.  F.  B.  MORSE. 

These  are  certainly  strong  words  coming  from  a  rival  artist 
and  a  man  of  Mr.  Morse's  character. 

John  A.  Graham,  who  published  a  volume  to  prove  that 
Home  Tooke  was  the  author  of  the  Letters  of  Junius,  was 
one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  New  York.  His  closing  words 
of  eulogy  upon  the  bust  of  La  Fayette  should  have  been,  but  un- 


Life   Masks  69 

fortunately  were  not,  prophetic.  He  wrote :  "  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  name  of  Browere,  in  virtue  of  this  bust,  will  live  as 
long  as  the  memory  of  La  Fayette  shall  be  beloved  and  re- 
spected in  America."  On  the  contrary,  the  name  of  Browere 
was  wholly  and  entirely  forgotten  and  unknown,  until  brought 
to  light,  and  publicly  proclaimed,  by  the  present  writer,  in  the 
fall  of  1897.  $0  much  for  the  stability  of  man's  reputation! 


De  Witt  Clinton 


(HEN  Samuel  Woodworth,  the  author  of 
the  well-known  lines  to  the  "  Old  Oaken 
Bucket,"  who  was  a  close  friend  of  Brow- 
ere,  entered  the  artist's  workshop  and 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  bust  of  De  Witt 

Clinton,  he  made  a  gesture,  as    of  restraint,  and    pronounced 

these  impromptu  lines  : 

"  Stay  !  the  bust  that  graces  yonder  shelf  claims  our  regard. 
It  is  the  front  of  Jove  himself; 
The  Majesty  of  Virtue  and  of  Power, 
Before  which  guilt  and  meanness  only  cower. 
Who  can  behold  that  bust  and  not  exclaim, 

Let  everlasting  honor  claim  our  Clinton's  name ! " 

70 


DE  WITT  CLINTON 
Age  56 


/V  fft'tf  Clinton 


of  the  bust  of  DC  Witt 


m  our  Clint^ 

IJ  TTI7/  aa 

fi?  3§  A 


vl     .- 


-  r  r. 


Life   Masks  71 

De  Witt  Clinton,  who  was  born  in  1769  and  died  in  1828, 
was  the  first  recognized  practical  politician  of  this  country. 
Apart  from  his  immense  service  in  pushing  to  completion  the 
Erie  canal,  he  was  essentially  a  politician  for  what  politics 
would  yield.  Consequently,  he  was  always  looked  upon  with 
distrust,  and  even  his  high  private  station  was  powerless  to 
overcome  this  feeling.  He  posed  as  a  connoisseur  of  the  fine 
arts,  was  at  one  time  President  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Arts,  and  seems  to  have  had  a  lofty  appreciation  of  Brow- 
ere's  work.  He  wrote:  "I  have  seen  and  examined  with 
attention  several  specimens  of  busts  executed  by  Mr.  Browere 
in  plaster,  and  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  their  accuracy 
is  equally  surprising  and  gratifying.  I  feel  pleasure  in  recom- 
mending the  fidelity  of  his  likenesses,  and  the  skill  with  which 
they  are  executed,  particularly  the  portrait  bust  of  General 
La  Fayette." 

Of  Clinton's  own  bust  the  eminent  Irish  patriot  and  Ameri- 
can advocate,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  wrote  to  Browere: 


NEW  YORK  July  6th  1826. 
Sir: 

If  my  opinion  as  to  the  merits  of  the  portrait  busts  I  have 
seen  of  your  workmanship,  can  be  of  any  advantage  to  you,  it 
is  entirely  at  your  service.  I  really  think  them  all  entitled  to 


72  Life   Masks 

great  praise  for  fidelity  of  expression  and  accuracy  of  resem- 
blance.     Those  of  General  La  Fayette  and  Governor  Clinton 
are,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  most  perfect  likenesses  of  the 
originals  that  have  as  yet  been  presented  to  the  public. 
I  am,  Dear  Sir,  your  obt  Servt 

THOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET. 


XI 


Henry  Clay 


lENRY  CLAY,  who  wore  the  appellation,  con- 
ferred upon  Pitt,  of  "  the  Great  Commoner/* 
long  before  it  was  given  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  has 
left  behind  him  perhaps  the  most  distinct  per- 
sonality of  any  of  the  statesmen  of  his  era. 
Where  Daniel  Webster  counted  his  admirers  by  hundreds, 
Henry  Clay  was  idolized  by  thousands  ;  the  one  appealing  to 
the  head  and  the  other  to  the  heart.  His  strongly  marked 
features  are  familiar  to  every  one,  from  the  scores  of  portraits 
of  him  to  be  found  here,  there,  and  everywhere ;  while  there 
are,  living  to-day,  a  large  number  of  people  who  knew  Clay 
in  the  flesh ;  so  that  Browere's  bust  of  him  needs  no  perfunc- 
tory certificate  to  assure  of  its  truthfulness.  It  is  certainly 
human  to  a  wonderful  degree,  and  there  could  scarcely  be  any 

73 


74  Life   Masks 

truer  portraiture  than  this,  wherein  we  have  the  very  features 
of  the  living  man  down  to  the  minutest  detail. 

Clay  was  of  striking  physique.  He  was  quite  tall,  nearly 
six  feet  two  inches,  rather  sparsely  built,  with  a  crane-like 
neck  that  he  endeavored  to  conceal  by  his  collar  and  stock. 
He  had  an  immense  mouth,  phenomenal  for  size  as  well  as 
shape,  and  kindly  blue  eyes  which  were  electrical  when  kin- 
dled. Yet  he  was  so  magnetic  in  his  power  over  men  that 
when  he  was  defeated  for  the  Presidency,  thousands  of  his 
Whig  followers  wept  as  they  heard  the  news. 

Henry  Clay  was  born  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  April 
12,  1777,  and  died  at  Washington,  June  29,  1852,  preceding 
his  compeer  Webster  to  the  grave  by  only  a  few  months.  On 
reaching  his  majority,  he  removed  to  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
which  became  his  future  home,  although  he  was  so  rarely  out 
of  public  life  that  he  was  comparatively  little  there.  Having 
chosen  the  law  for  his  profession,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  before  attaining  his  thirtieth  year,  was  sent  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  strenuous  in  his  support  of 
home  industries,  and  endeavored  by  legislation  to  enforce  upon 
legislators  the  wearing  of  homespun  cloths.  So  ardent  was 
he  in  this,  that  his  course  led  to  a  duel  with  Humphrey  Mar- 
shall, in  which  both  were  slightly  wounded. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  Clay  was  one  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  to  negotiate  the  treaty  of  peace  with 


HENRY  CLAY 

Age  48 


Lite   Masks 

h*n  this,  wherein   wt  ii,*vr   •]•«•  verv  features 

j 

vwn  to  tfK   mmui^-i  u«\*;l 


tring 


eoiiceal  by  hi*  atftw 
wth,  phenomenal  for  size  a&   >*i 
yc>  which  were  electrical  when  kij, 
lagnctic  in  his  power  over  mea  dbftt 
lor  the.  Presidency,  thousands   of  hm 
:hcy  heard  the  news. 
in    Hanover 


o  the  bar, 
the  Senate 


YAJO   Y.HV1HH 


Life   Masks  75 

Great  Britain,  and  as  such  signed  the  Treaty  of  Ghent.  He 
was  known  as  "the  great  Pacificator,"  from  his  course  in  the 
events  that  led  to  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  later  averted 
Southern  "  nullification."  He  was  an  active  and  bitter  oppo- 
nent of  Andrew  Jackson,  and  supported  John  Quincy  Adams 
against  him  for  the  Presidency,  his  reward  being  the  portfolio 
of  State ;  but  there  was  no  bargain  and  corruption  about  this 
business  as  his  enemies  claimed  and  which  haunted  Clay's 
political  career  throughout  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  an 
ambitious  man,  and  his  failure  to  reach  the  goal  of  his  ambi- 
tion—  the  presidential  chair  —  was  a  fatal  blow. 

Clay  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  orators  this  coun- 
try has  produced,  and  a  man  with  much  natural  ability,  but 
little  study  and  cultivation.  His  name  is  one  to  conjure  with 
in  old  Kentucky,  and  it  is  with  a  moist  eye  that  personal  rem- 
iniscences of  Clay  are  related  out  there  in  the  blue  grass  State, 
even  at  this  day,  nearly  half  a  century  after  his  decease. 


XII 


America's  Master  Painter 

Gilbert  Stuart 

'NE  artist,  and  he  easily  the  first  of  American 
painters,  did  not  deny  to  Browere  and  his 
works  the  merit  that  was  their  due.  On  the 
contrary,  he  saw  the  fidelity  and  great  value  of 
these  life  masks,  and  gave  practical  encourage- 
ment to  the  maker  of  them  by  submitting  to  his  process  and 
by  giving  a  certificate  of  approval.  He  did  this,  not  so  much 
that  his  living  face  might  be  transmitted  to  posterity,  as  to  test 
the  truth  of  the  newspaper  reports  of  the  suffering  and  danger 
experienced  by  the  venerable  and  venerated  Jefferson,  and  thus 
by  his  example  encourage  others  to  go  and  do  likewise.  The 
result  was  the  superb  head  of  Gilbert  Stuart,  herewith  repro- 
duced from  the  original  bust,  in  the  Redwood  Library,  at 

76 


Life   Masks  77 

Newport,   Rhode  Island.     This  noble   action   of  Stuart   must 
have  been  as  light  out  of  darkness  to  Browere. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  mask,  from  which  this  bust  was 
made,  Stuart  gave  to  Browere  the  following  emphatic  certificate : 


BOSTON  November  29th  1825. 

Mr.  Browere,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  has  this  day  made 
a  portrait  bust  of  me  from  life,  with  which  I  am  perfectly  sat- 
isfied and  which  I  hope  will  remove  any  illiberal  misrepresen- 
tations that  may  deprive  the  nation  from  possessing  like  records 

of  more  important  men. 

G.  STUART. 

The  "illiberal  misrepresentations"  referred  to  were  of  course 
the  reported  inconveniences  that  Jefferson  had  suffered ;  and 
praise  such  as  this,  from  Stuart,  is,  as  approbation  from  Sir 
Hubert  Stanley,  praise  indeed. 

A  few  days  afterward  the  Boston  "Daily  Advertiser"  an- 
nounced: "The  portrait  bust  of  Gilbert  Stewart,  Esq.,  lately 
executed  by  Mr.  Browere,  will  be  exhibited  by  him  at  the 
Hubard  Gallery,  this  evening.  This  exhibition  is  made  by 
him  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  he  can  present  a  perfect 
likeness,  and  he  will  prove  at  the  same  time,  by  the  certificate 
of  Mr.  Stewart,  that  the  operation  is  without  pain."  Two 


78  Life   Masks 

days  later  the  local  press  fairly  teemed  with  laudatory  notices 
of  Browere's  work.  The  Boston  "American"  said:  "This  bust 
has  been  adjudged  by  all  who  have  examined  it  and  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  original  to  be  a  striking  and  perfect  resem- 
blance." The  "  Commercial  Gazette  "  said :  "  It  is  a  fine  likeness, 
in  truth  we  think  the  best  we  ever  saw  of  any  one.  We  par- 
ticularly enquired  of  Mr.  Stuart's  family  if  he  suffered  by  any 
difficulty  of  breathing  or  if  the  process  was  in  any  degree  pain- 
ful, and  were  assured  that  there  was  nothing  of  an  unpleasant 
or  painful  nature  in  it." 

Considering  Stuart's  eminence  in  art,  a  position  fully  recog- 
nized in  his  lifetime,  and  his  irascible  temper  and  unyielding 
character,  such  action  as  his  toward  Browere,  not  only  in  sub- 
mitting to  have  the  mask  taken,  but  in  certifying  to  it  and 
permitting  it  to  be  publicly  exhibited  for  the  benefit  of  Brow- 
ere's reputation,  speaks  volumes  of  the  highest  authority  in 
support  of  the  workman  and  his  work. 

Stuart's  daughter,  Jane,  who  died  at  Newport,  in  1888,  at 
a  very  advanced  age,  and  was  as  "impossible"  in  some  respects 
as  was  her  distinguished  father,  remembered  well  the  incident 
of  the  mask  being  taken,  and  testified  to  its  marvellous  life- 
speaking  qualities.  Having  lost  all  knowledge  of  its  where- 
abouts, she  searched  for  years  in  the  hope  of  finding  it,  since 
she  looked  upon  it  as  the  next  thing  to  having  her  father 
before  her.  Finally,  in  the  Centennial  year,  it  was  discovered 


GILBERT  STUART 

Age  70 


^+u; 


J  /•  r. 


Life   Masks  79 

in  the  possession  of  Browere's  son,  and  was  purchased  by  Mr. 
David  King,  of  Newport,  as  a  present  for  Miss  Stuart.  But 
Miss  Stuart  felt  that  her  little  cottage,  so  well  remembered  by 
many  visitors  to  Newport,  was  no  place  for  so  big  a  work, 
and  desired  that  it  might  be  placed  in  a  public  gallery,  which 
wish  Mr.  King  complied  with,  by  presenting  it  to  the  Red- 
wood Library,  at  Newport,  where  it  may  be  seen  by  all  inter- 
ested in  Stuart  or  in  Browere's  life  masks.  Jane  Stuart  is  the 
subject  of  Colonel  Wentworth  Higginson's  charming  paper, 
"One  of  Thackeray's  Women,"  in  his  volume  of  Essays 
entitled  "  Concerning  All  of  Us." 

Gilbert  Stuart  was  born  in  what  was  called  the  Narragansett 
country,  on  December  3,  1755.  The  actual  place  of  his  birth 
is  now  called  Hammond  Mills,  near  North  Kingston,  Rhode 
Island,  about  nine  miles  from  Narragansett  Pier ;  and  the  old- 
fashioned  gambrel-roofed,  low-portalled  house,  in  which  the 
future  artist  first  saw  light,  still  stands  at  the  head  of  Petaquam- 
scott  Pond.  The  snuff-mill  set  up  by  Gilbert  Stewart,  the 
father  of  the  painter,  who  had  come  over  from  Perth,  in  Scot- 
land, at  the  suggestion  of  a  fellow  Scotchman,  Doctor  Thomas 
MofFatt,  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  snuff  into  the  col- 
onies, was  located,  by  the  race,  immediately  under  the  room  in 
which  Stuart  was  born,  both  being  part  of  the  same  building, 
so  that  Stuart's  excuse  for  taking  snuff,  that  he  was  born  in  a 
snuff-mill,  is  literally  true. 


8o  Life   Masks 

When  four  months  old,  the  third  and  youngest  child  of  the 
snuff-grinder  and  his  beautiful  wife,  Elizabeth  Anthony,  was 
carried,  on  Palm  Sunday,  to  the  Episcopal  church  and  bap- 
tized "Gilbert  Stewart."  The  significance  of  this  record  is 
found  in  the  orthography  of  the  surname  and  in  the  limita- 
tion of  the  baptismal  name.  Stuart's  name  will  be  found  in 
print  quite  frequently  as  "  Gilbert  Charles  Stuart,"  and  I  have 
seen  it  as  "Charles  Gilbert  Stuart";  and  the  Jacobin  leaning 
of  his  Scotch  sire,  is  commonly  supported  by  the  naming  of 
the  child  for  the  last  of  the  Royal  Stuarts,  the  romantic  Prince 
Charlie.  This  pretty  legend,  built  to  support  unreliable  tradi- 
tion, is  blown  to  the  winds  by  the  prosaic  church  record, 
which  shows  that  the  artist's  orthography  was  an  assumption, 
and  his  name  simply  Gilbert  Stewart.  That  this  plebeian 
spelling  of  the  royal  name,  was  not  an  error  or  accident  of 
the  scribe  who  made  it,  is  proved  by  signatures  of  the  snuff- 
grinder  which  have  come  down  to  us. 

Stuart's  parents  early  removed  to  Newport,  where  the  son 
had  the  advantage  of  tuition  in  English  and  Latin,  from  the 
assistant  minister  of  venerable  Trinity  parish ;  but  in  his  boy- 
hood Stuart  seems  to  have  shown  none  of  those  dominant 
characteristics  which  later  were  so  strongly  developed  both  in 
the  artist  and  in  the  man,  unless  it  may  be  the  predilection 
for  pranks  and  practical  jokes  that  early  manifested  itself. 

The  earliest  picture  that  can  be  recognized  as  from  the 
brush  of  Gilbert  Stuart,  is  a  pair  of  Spanish  dogs  belonging  to 


Life   Masks  81 

the  famous  Dr.  William  Hunter,  of  Newport,  which  Stuart  is 
said  to  have  painted  when  in  his  fourteenth  year;  and  what 
are  claimed  to  be  his  first  portraits,  those  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bannister,  have  been  so  nearly  destroyed  by  "restoration," 
that  nothing  of  the  original  work  remains  to  show  any  merit 
the  pictures  may  have  possessed. 

Stuart's  first  instruction  in  art  was  received  from  Cosmo 
Alexander,  a  Scotchman,  who  passed  a  few  years  in  the  colo- 
nies painting  a  number  of  interesting  portraits  in  the  affected, 
perfunctory  manner  of  the  period.  Of  Alexander  nothing 
was  known  until  recent  investigations  by  the  writer  discovered 
him  to  be  a  great-grandson  of  George  Jamesone,  whom  Wai- 
pole  calls  "the  Vandyke  of  Scotland."  Alexander  took  Stuart, 
then  in  his  eighteenth  year,  back  with  him  to  Scotland,  to 
acquire  a  greater  knowledge  of  art  than  was  possible  in  the 
colonies  at  that  time ;  and  Stuart  is  claimed  to  have  been  at 
this  period  a  student  at  the  University  of  Glasgow.  But  this 
tradition,  like  that  previously  mentioned,  is  shattered,  as  tra- 
dition almost  always  is  shattered,  by  the  cold,  unimaginative 
record,  which  fails  to  show  his  name  on  the  matriculation 
register. 

Alexander  died  not  long  after  reaching  Edinburgh,  and 
Stuart  was  left,  according  to  his  biographers,  in  the  care  of 
Alexander's  friend,  "Sir  George  Chambers,"  who  "quickly 
followed  Alexander  to  the  grave,"  leaving  Stuart  without  pro- 
tection. But  this  story  is  manifestly  without  foundation,  as 


82  Life   Masks 

there  was  no  "Sir  George  Chambers"  at  the  period  considered. 
There  was,  however,  a  Scotch  painter  of  some  repute,  Sir 
George  Chalmers,  of  Cults,  who  had  married  either  a  sister 
or  a  daughter  of  Cosmo  Alexander ;  and  this  Sir  George 
Chalmers  is  doubtless  the  person  intended,  although  he  lived 
on  until  1791,  so  that  it  could  not  have  been  his  demise 
that  threw  Stuart  upon  his  own  resources,  which,  being 
few,  necessitated  his  working  his  way  home,  on  a  collier, 
after  a  few  months'  absence. 

Stuart  returned  to  America  from  Scotland  at  a  period  of 
intense  excitement.  The  Boston  Port  bill  had  just  been  re- 
ceived, assuring  what  the  Stamp  Act  had  initiated,  and  the 
tories  and  the  patriots  were  being  marshalled  according  to 
their  particular  bias.  It  was  not  a  time  for  the  peaceful  arts. 
It  was  the  time  for  action  and  for  town  meetings.  Before 
the  echoes  of  Lexington  and  Concord  had  died  away,  "Gil- 
bert Stewart  the  snuff-grinder "  hied  himself  away  to  Nova 
Scotia,  leaving  his  wife  and  family  behind.  At  this  epoch 
Gilbert  Stuart,  the  future  painter,  was  in  his  twentieth  year, 
and  apparently  had  inherited  from  his  father  sentiments  of 
loyalty  to  the  Crown,  so  that  instead  of  going  forth  to  battle 
for  his  native  land,  as  many  no  older  than  he  did,  he  em- 
barked for  England,  the  day  before  the  action  at  Bunker 
Hill,  with  the  ostensible  object  of  seeking  the  Mecca  of  all 
of  our  early  artists,  the  studio  of  Benjamin  West. 


Life   Masks  83 

Once  in  London,  Stuart's  object  to  seek  instruction  in  paint- 
ing from  West,  seems  to  have  weakened,  and  he  remained  in 
the  great  metropolis  nearly  two  years  before  he  knocked  at 
the  Newman-street  door  of  the  kindly  Pennsylvanian.  These 
months  were  occupied  chiefly  with  a  sister  art  in  which  Stuart 
was  most  proficient.  He  loved  music  more  than  he  loved 
painting  —  a  taste  that  never  forsook  him.  He  played  upon 
several  instruments,  but  his  favorites  were  the  organ  and  the 
flute;  indeed  the  story  has  come  down  that  his  last  night  in 
Newport,  before  sailing,  was  spent  in  playing  the  flute  under 
the  window  of  one  of  its  fair  denizens. 

This  knowledge  of  music  stood  Stuart  in  good  stead  when 
an  unknown  youth  in  an  unknown  land.  A  few  days  after 
his  arrival  in  London,  hungry  and  penniless,  he  passed  the 
open  door  of  a  church,  through  which  there  came  to  his  ear 
the  strains  of  a  feebly  played  organ.  He  ventured  in  and 
found  the  vestry  sitting  in  judgment  upon  several  applicants  for 
the  position  of  organist.  Receiving  permission  to  enter  the 
competition,  he  was  selected  for  the  position  at  a  salary  of 
thirty  pounds,  after  having  satisfied  the  officials  of  his  char- 
acter, by  reference  to  Mr.  William  Grant,  whose  whole- 
length  portrait  Stuart  afterward  painted. 

Having  some  kind  of  subsistence  assured  him  by  the  position 
of  organist  he  thus  secured,  Stuart  began  that  desultory  dallying 
with  art  which  later  often  left  him  without  a  dry  crust  for  his 


84  Life   Masks 

daily  bread.  While  his  work  was  always  serious,  his  tem- 
perament never  was,  and  he  seems  to  have  played  cruel  jokes 
upon  himself,  as  carelessly  as  he  did  upon  others.  For  two 
years  his  career  is  almost  lost  to  art ;  only  once  in  a  while  did 
he  gather  himself  together  to  work  at  his  painting.  He  had, 
however,  to  a  marked  degree,  that  odd  resource  of  genius 
which  enabled  him  to  work  best  and  catch  up  with  lost  time 
when  under  the  spur  of  necessity.  In  later  days,  with  sitters 
besieging  his  door,  he  would  turn  them  away,  one  by  one, 
until  the  larder  was  empty  and  there  was  not  a  penny  left  in 
the  purse;  then  he  would  go  to  work  and  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  produce  one  of  his  masterpieces. 

Such  was  the  character,  in  outline,  of  the  man  who  went  to 
London  to  study  under  West,  and,  after  reaching  the  metropo- 
lis, let  two  years  slip  by  him  without  seeking  his  chosen  master. 
Finally  he  went  to  the  famous  American  and  was  received  as 
a  pupil  and  as  a  member  of  the  painter's  family,  in  true  ap- 
prentice style.  Just  what  Stuart  learned  from  West  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  imagine ; — unless  it  was  how  not  to  paint.  For,  without 
desiring  or  meaning  to  join  in  the  hue  and  cry  of  to-day 
against  the  art  of  West,  but  on  the  contrary,  protesting  against 
the  clamor  which  fails  to  consider  the  conditions  that  existed 
in  his  time  and  therefore  fails  to  do  him  the  justice  that  is  his 
due,  there  is  surely  nothing  in  the  work  of  the  one  to  suggest 
anything  in  the  work  of  the  other. 


Life   Masks  85 

For  five  long  and  doubtless  weary  years  Stuart  plodded 
under  the  guidance  of  his  gentle  master  until,  tired  of  doing 
some  of  the  most  important  parts  of  West's  royal  commissions, 
for  which  his  remuneration  was  probably  only  his  keep  and 
tuition,  without  even  the  chance  of  glory,  he  broke  away  and 
opened  a  studio  for  himself  in  New  Burlington  Street.  If 
Stuart  did  gain  little  in  art  from  West,  he  gained  much  of 
the  invaluable  benefit  of  familiar  intercourse  with  persons 
of  the  first  distinction,  who  were  frequenters  of  the  studio 
of  the  King's  painter.  This  was  of  great  advantage  to  the 
young  artist  when  he  set  up  his  own  easel,  and  many  of  these 
men  became  his  early  sitters. 

Stuart,  while  domiciled  with  West,  drew  in  the  schools  of 
the  Royal  Academy,  attended  the  lectures  of  the  distinguished 
William  Cruikshank  on  anatomy,  and  listened  to  the  dis- 
courses delivered  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  on  painting.  Later 
on  he  painted  the  portraits  of  each  of  these  celebrated  men, 
and  did  enough  individual  work  to  indicate  the  quality  of  the 
artistic  stuff  that  was  in  him,  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  mani- 
fest itself.  In  1777,  the  year  Stuart  went  to  West,  he  made 
his  first  exhibition  at  the  Royal  Academy.  His  one  contribu- 
tion is  entered  in  the  catalogue  of  that  year  merely  as  "  A 
Portrait."  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  was  a  portrait  of  his 
fellow  countryman  and  early  friend,  Benjamin  Waterhouse, 
of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  who  preceded  Stuart  to  London 


86  Life   Masks 

only  a  short  time,  and  who  seems  to  have  remained  the  artist's 
chum  during  their  sojourn  in  the  English  capital.  A  portrait  of 
Doctor  Waterhouse,  by  Stuart,  was  given  by  the  Doctor's  widow, 
to  the  Redwood  library,  at  Newport,  together  with  Stuart's 
self-portrait,  wearing  a  large  hat,  and  dated  on  the  back,  1778. 
These  two  portraits  are  evidently  of  a  contemporaneous  period. 
In  1779  Stuart  exhibited,  at  the  Royal  Academy,  three 
pictures :  "  A  Young  Gentleman,"  "  A  Little  Girl,"  and  "  A 
Head."  In  1781  he  showed  "A  Portrait  from  Recollection 
since  Death,"  and  in  1782  made  his  last  exhibition  there, 
sending  a  "Portrait  of  an  Artist,"  and  "A  Portrait  of  a  Gen- 
tleman Skating."  This  last  picture,  although  painted  so  early 
in  his  career,  has  been  considered  Stuart's  chef-d'oeuvre.  It  is 
a  whole-length  portrait  of  Mr.  William  Grant,  of  Congalton, 
skating  in  St.  James  Park.  Mr.  Grant  was  the  early  friend 
who  bore  testimony  to  Stuart's  character,  whereby  Stuart 
gained  the  organist's  position  soon  after  his  arrival  in  London  ; 
and  the  story  has  come  down  that  Mr.  Grant,  desiring  to  help 
Stuart,  determined  to  sit  for  his  portrait,  and  went  to  Stuart's 
room  for  a  sitting.  The  day  was  crisp  and  cold,  and  the  con- 
versation, not  unnaturally,  turned  upon  skating,  a  sport  much 
enjoyed  by  both  painter  and  sitter,  each  being  rarely  skilful 
at  it.  Finally  paints  and  brushes  were  put  away,  and  the 
two  friends  started  forth  to  skate.  Stuart  was  so  struck  with 
the  beauty  and  rhythm  of  his  companion's  motion  that  he 


Life   Masks  87 

determined  to  essay  a  picture  of  him  thus  engaged.  The 
original  canvas  was  abandoned  and  a  new  one  begun,  show- 
ing Mr.  Grant  not  merely  upon  skates,  but  actually  skating ; 
and  the  latent  force  of  the  graceful  undulating  motion  has 
been  rendered  with  a  skill  and  ability  that  at  once  put  Stuart 
in  the  front  rank  of  the  great  portrait-painters  of  his  day. 

The  remarkable  merit  of  this  picture  and  the  wilful  un- 
reasonableness of  painters  in  not  signing  their  works,  were 
curiously  shown  at  the  exhibition  of  "Pictures  by  the  Old 
Masters,"  held  at  Burlington  House,  in  January  of  1878.  In 
the  printed  catalogue  of  the  collection  this  picture  was  attrib- 
uted to  Gainsborough,  and  attracted  and  received  marked 
attention.  A  writer  in  the  "  Saturday  Review,"  speaking  of 
the  exhibition,  remarks  :  "  Turning  to  the  English  school,  we 
may  observe  a  most  striking  portrait  in  number  128,  in  Gallery 
III.  This  is  set  down  as  *  Portrait  of  W.  Grant,  Esq.,  of 
Congalton,  skating  in  St.  James  Park.  Thomas  Gainsborough, 
R.  A.  (?)  '  The  query  is  certainly  pertinent,  for,  while  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  that  we  do  not  recognize  Gainsborough's 
hand  in  the  graceful  and  silvery  look  of  the  landscape  in  the 
background,  it  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  the  flesh  tones  of  the 
portrait  itself  with  any  preconceived  notion  of  Gainsborough's 
workmanship.  The  face  has  a  peculiar  firmness  and  decision 
in  drawing,  which  reminds  one  rather  of  Raeburn  than  of 
Gainsborough,  though  we  do  not  mean  by  this  to  suggest  in 


88  Life   Masks 

any  way  that  Gainsborough  wanted  decision  in  either  painting 
or  drawing  when  he  chose  to  exercise  it." 

The  discussion  as  to  the  authorship  of  this  picture  waxed 
warm,  the  champions  of  Raeburn,  of  Romney,  and  of  Shee, 
contending  with  those  of  Gainsborough  for  the  prize,  which 
contention  was  only  set  at  rest  by  a  grandson  of  the  subject 
coming  out  with  a  card  that  the  picture  was  by  "  the  great  por- 
trait-painter of  America,  Gilbert  Stuart."  And  to  Stuart  it 
did  justly  belong. 

With  the  success  of  this  portrait  of  Mr.  Grant,  Stuart  was 
launched  upon  the  sea  of  prosperity,  and  to  himself  alone,  and 
not  to  want  of  patronage  or  lack  of  opportunity,  is  due  his 
failure  to  provide  against  old  age  or  a  rainy  day.  For  a  while 
he  lived  like  a  lord,  in  reckless  extravagance.  Money  rolled 
in  upon  him,  and  he  spent  it  lavishly,  without  a  thought  for 
the  morrow.  His  rooms  were  thronged  with  sitters,  and  he 
received  prices  for  his  work  second  only  to  those  of  Reynolds 
and  of  Gainsborough.  He  was  on  the  best  footing  with  his 
brethren  of  the  brush,  and  with  Gainsborough,  his  senior  by 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  painted  a  whole-length 
portrait  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  in  his  robes,  which  has 
been  engraved  in  mezzotinto  by  William  Ward,  with  the 
names  of  the  two  painters  inscribed  upon  the  plate.  This 
alone  shows  the  estimation  in  which  Stuart  was  held  by  his 
contemporaries,  and  it  would  be  most  interesting  to  know 


Life   Masks  89 

which  parts  were  the  work  of  Stuart  and  which  were  due  to 
his  famous  collaborator. 

About  this  period  Boydell  was  in  the  midst  of  the  publica- 
tion of  his  great  Shakespeare  gallery,  to  which  the  first  artists 
of  the  day  contributed,  and  Stuart  was  commissioned  by  the 
Alderman,  to  paint,  for  the  gallery,  portraits  of  the  leading 
painters  and  engravers  who  were  engaged  upon  the  work. 
Thus,  for  Boydell,  he  painted  the  superb  half-length  portraits  of 
his  master  West,  and  of  the  engravers  Woollett  and  Hall,  now 
in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  St.  Martin's  Place,  London. 
He  painted,  also  for  Boydell,  his  own  portrait,  and  portraits 
of  Reynolds,  Copley,  Gainsborough,  Ozias  Humphrey,  Earlom, 
Facius,  Heath,  William  Sharp,  Boydell  himself,  and  several 
others.  Stuart  was  an  intimate  friend  of  John  Philip  Kemble, 
and  painted  his  portrait  several  times ;  one  picture  is  in  the 
National  Portrait  Gallery,  and  another,  as  Richard  ///.,  which 
has  been  engraved  by  Keating,  did  belong  to  Sir  Henry  Halford. 

Other  prominent  sitters  to  Stuart  in  London  were  Hugh, 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  the  Lord  Percy  of  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill;  Admiral  Sir  John  Jervis,  afterward  Earl  St. 
Vincent;  Isaac  Barre;  Dr.  Fothergill,  and  the  Dukes  of  Man- 
chester and  of  Leinster.  From  these  names  alone  it  can  be 
seen  that  Stuart  was  in  touch  with  persons  of  the  highest  con- 
sideration, and  they  were  not  only  his  patrons,  but  his  friends. 
He  kept  open  house,  dispensing  a  princely  hospitality.  The 
story  has  been  handed  down  that  he  led  off  with  a  dinner  of 


90  Life   Masks 

forty-two,  composed  of  the  choice  spirits  of  the  metropolis. 
He  was  so  charming  as  a  host,  and  had  gathered  together 
such  delightful  guests,  that  it  was  suggested  the  same  party 
should  meet  frequently,  which  proposition  Stuart  accepted,  by 
arranging  that  six  of  them  should  dine  with  him  each  day 
of  the  week,  without  special  invitation,  the  six  first  arriving 
to  be  the  guests  of  the  day,  until  the  entire  forty-two  had 
again  warmed  their  legs  under  his  mahogany.  Such  prodigal- 
ity as  this,  for  a  young  artist,  shows  what  Stuart's  tempera- 
ment was,  and  points  as  surely  to  the  pauper's  grave  as  though 
it  was  there  yawning  open  before  him. 

Stuart  was  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  with  fine  physique, 
brown  hair,  a  ruddy  complexion,  and  strongly  marked  fea- 
tures. He  dressed  with  elegance,  which  was  possible  at  that 
period,  and  notwithstanding  his  biting  sarcasm,  keen  wit,  and 
searching  eye,  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  fair  sex.  In  his 
thirty-first  year  he  selected  Miss  Charlotte  Coates,  the  daughter 
of  a  Berkshire  physician,  for  his  partner  through  life,  and  on 
May  10,  1786,  they  were  married. 

Stuart  remained  in  London  until  1788,  when  he  was  in- 
duced to  visit  Ireland  and  open  a  studio  in  Dublin.  Here  he 
kept  up  the  same  style  of  living  he  had  indulged  in  before  he 
left  London  and  was  in  high  favor  with  the  Irish,  painting 
some  of  his  most  elaborate  portraits  at  this  time ;  but,  although 
fully  employed  and  receiving  the  highest  prices  for  his  pic- 
tures, he  was  always  without  money.  So  poor  was  he,  indeed, 


Life   Masks  91 

that  when  he  returned  to  this  country,  in  1792,  he  had  not 
the  means  to  pay  for  his  passage  and  engaged  to  paint  the 
portrait  of  the  owner  of  the  ship  as  its  equivalent.  He  landed 
in  New  York  towards  the  close  of  the  year ;  and  although  the 
tradition  has  been  handed  down  that  the  cause  of  his  return- 
ing to  America,  was  his  desire  to  paint  the  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington, it  seems,  considering  that  he  waited  two  years  before 
visiting  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose,  that  the  remark  of  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence  may  not  have  been  without  foundation. 
The  latter,  upon  hearing  this  reason  assigned,  is  related  by 
Leslie  to  have  said:  "I  knew  Stuart  well  and  I  believe  the 
real  cause  of  his  leaving  England  was  his  having  become  tired 
of  the  inside  of  our  prisons."  Whatever  the  real  cause  was 
that  brought  the  artist  home,  we  may  congratulate  ourselves 
that  he  came  to  live  among  us  at  the  period  that  he  did,  for 
he  was  then  in  the  fulness  of  his  powers,  and  the  pictures  that  he 
painted  between  this  time  and  his  removal  to  Boston,  in  1805, 
are  the  finest  productions  of  his  brush  on  this  side  of  the  water. 
Gilbert  Stuart  went  to  reside  in  Philadelphia  about  New 
Year,  1795.  There  he  painted  his  famous  life  portraits  of 
Washington,  three  in  number,  but  I  have  written  so  often 
and  so  much  on  this  subject  that  I  shall  content  myself  with 
this  bare  mention.1  There  also  he  painted  the  portraits  of  the 
famous  men  and  of  the  beautiful  women  that  have  helped  most 
to  place  his  name  so  high  up  on  the  pillar  of  fame.  That  Stuart 

1  Vide  "  Stuart's  Lansdowne  Portrait  of  Washington,"  in  Harper's  Magazine,  Aug.,  1896. 


92  Life   Masks 

was  a  master  in  the  art  of  portrait-painting  it  needs  no  argu- 
ment to  prove ;  his  works  are  the  only  evidence  needed,  and 
they  establish  it  beyond  appeal.  In  his  portraits  the  men  and 
women  of  the  past  live  again.  Each  individual  is  here,  and  it 
was  Stuart's  ability  to  portray  the  individual  that  was  his  great- 
est power.  Each  face  looks  at  you  and  fain  would  speak, 
while  the  brilliant  and  animated  coloring  makes  one  forgetful 
of  the  past.  The  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  a  forum  beyond 
dispute,  says :  "  Stuart  was  pre-eminent  as  a  colourist,  and  his 
place,  judged  by  the  highest  canons  in  art,  is  unquestionably 
among  the  few  recognized  masters  of  portraiture." 

Stuart  had  two  distinct  artistic  periods.  His  English  work 
shows  plainly  the  influence  of  his  English  contemporaries,  and 
might  easily  be  mistaken,  as  it  has  been,  for  the  best  work  of 
Romney  or  of  Gainsborough.  But  his  American  work,  almost 
the  very  first  he  did  after  his  return  to  his  native  soil,  pro- 
claims aloud  the  virility  and  robustness  of  his  independence. 
The  rich,  juicy  coloring  so  marked  in  his  fine  portraits  painted 
here,  replaces  the  tender  pearly  grays  so  predominant  in  his 
pictures  painted  there.  The  delicate  precision  of  his  early 
brush  gives  way  to  the  masterful  freedom  of  his  later  one. 
His  English  portraits  might  have  been  limned  by  Romney 
or  by  Gainsborough,  but  his  American  ones  could  have  been 
painted  only  by  Gilbert  Stuart.  This  greatest  of  American 
painters  died  in  Boston,  July  27,  1828,  and  was  interred  in 
an  unmarked  grave  in  the  Potter's  Field. 


XIII 


David  Porter 

United  States  Navy 

JHILE  this  country  and  the  world  are  yet 
enthralled  by  the  magical  victories  won  by 
the  American  navy  over  the  fleets  of  Spain, 
it  is  instructive  to  recall  how  the  exploits  of 
Uncle  Sam's  boys,  on  the  seas,  have  always 
bordered  on  the  marvellous.  The  doings  of  Paul  Jones  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  of  Truxtun  in  the  war  with  France ; 
of  Decatur  and  of  Preble  in  the  war  with  Tripoli;  of  Bain- 
bridge  and  of  Stewart,  and  of  Hull  and  of  Perry,  in  the  second 
war  with  England ;  and  of  Farragut  and  of  Jouett  and  of 
Gushing  in  the  war  between  the  States,  seem,  each  one,  too 
incredible  to  have  a  like  successor,  yet  nothing  heretofore 

in  naval   warfare  has  approached  the  victories  of  Dewey  and 

93 


94  Life   Masks 

of  Sampson.  With  all  these  glittering  names,  we  have  still 
another  name  the  peer  of  the  best,  possessing  in  addition  the 
spur  of  naval  heredity  —  the  name  of  Porter. 

There  have  been  three  officers  of  high  rank  in  the  United 
States  navy  bearing  the  name  of  David  Porter.  The  first 
served  the  Continental  Congress;  his  son,  born  in  1780,  gave 
the  best  years  of  his  life  to  his  country  on  the  sea;  and  his 
grandson,  after  having  four  times  received  the  thanks  of  Con- 
gress for  his  services  during  the  Civil  War,  died  at  the  head 
of  the  navy,  with  the  rank  of  Admiral,  in  1891.  David  Porter, 
second  of  the  name,  began  his  naval  career  in  action,  having 
been,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  appointed  a  midshipman  on  board 
the  frigate  Constellation,  and  with  her,  soon  after,  participated  in 
the  fight  where  the  French  frigate  L?  Insurgent  e  was  captured 
by  Truxtun  with  the  loss  of  one  man  killed  and  two  men 
wounded.  Porter  subsequently  distinguished  himself  in  the 
war  with  Tripoli,  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy,  and  early  in 
the  war  of  1812  sailed  from  New  York,  in  command  of  the 
Essex,  on  one  of  the  most  eventful  cruises  ever  had  by  a  man- 
of-war.  His  first  feat  was  to  capture  the  Alert,  in  an  engage- 
ment of  eight  minutes,  without  any  loss  or  damage  to  his  ship ; 
and  so  well  directed  was  the  fire  of  the  Essex,  that  the  Alert 
had  seven  feet  of  water  in  her  hold  when  she  surrendered. 
This  was  the  first  British  war  vessel  taken  in  the  conflict. 
Porter  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  destruction  of  the 


COMMODORE  DAVID  PORTER 

45 


the 


nre 


tlie  head 


FWt 


er, 


Life   Masks  95 

English  whale-fishery  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  sailed  on  this 
errand,  around  the  Horn,  for  Valparaiso.  He  made  such  havoc 
with  the  British  shipping  that  the  loss  footed  up  to  two 
million  and  a  half  of  dollars  and  four  hundred  men  prisoners. 

The  British  sent  two  vessels,  with  picked  crews  of  five  hun- 
dred men  and  a  combined  armament  of  eighty-one  guns,  to 
search  for  the  Essex  (mounting  only  thirty-two  guns  and  with 
a  crew  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  men),  with  instructions 
that  neither  ship  should  engage  her  singly.  They  found  her 
in  the  neutral  harbor  of  Valparaiso,  where  she  was  attacked, 
in  defiance  of  all  neutrality  laws  ;  and  after  one  of  the  most 
desperate  engagements  in  naval  history,  lasting  two  hours  and 
a  half,  the  Essex  was  forced  to  surrender.  Upon  his  return 
home,  Captain  Porter  was  received  with  distinction  and  given 
the  thanks  of  Congress  and  of  several  of  the  States.  He  re- 
tired from  the  navy,  in  i  826,  to  take  command  of  the  Mexican 
navy,  from  which  he  withdrew  three  years  later,  was  subse- 
quently appointed  consul-general  to  the  Barbary  States,  then 
charge  d'affaires  at  Constantinople,  and  later  minister  resident, 
which  office  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

It  was  but  a  short  time  before  Porter's  retirement  from  the 
navy  that  Browere  took  his  life  mask,  and  the  toss  of  the  head 
and  the  determined  mouth  show  the  qualities  that  made  up 
David  Porter's  character.  The  spirited  pose  of  this  bust  is 
quite  remarkable  in  a  life  mask,  and  would  seem  to  indicate 


96  Life   Masks 

that  Browere's  material  must  have  been,  at  least  in  some  de- 
gree, flexible.  Porter  was  very  enthusiastic  over  Browere's 
work,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  letter  to  Major 
Noah  : 

MERIDIAN  HILL,  i8th  Sept.  1825. 
Dear  Sir: 

By  means  of  epistolary  introduction  I  have  had  the  pleasure 
of  becoming  acquainted  with  John  H.  I.  Browere,  Esq.,  a 
young  and  deserving  artist  of  your  city.  Agreeably  to  your 
and  my  friends'  requests,  I  consented  to  sit  for  my  portrait 
bust,  which  has  been  executed  by  him  according  to  his  novel 
and  perfect  mode.  Mr.  Browere  has  succeeded  to  admiration. 
Nothing  can  be  more  accurate  and  expressive ;  in  fact,  it  was 
impossible  that  it  could  be  otherwise  than  a  perfect  facsimile 
of  my  person,  owing  to  the  peculiar  neatness  and  dexterity 
which  guide  his  scientific  operation.  The  knowledge  and 
dexterity  of  Mr.  Browere  in  this  branch  of  the  Fine  Arts  is 
surprising,  and  were  I  to  express  my  opinion  on  the  subject,  I 
should  recommend  every  one  who  wished  to  possess  a  perfect 
likeness  of  himself  or  friends  to  resort  to  Mr.  Browere  in 
preference  to  any  other  man.  His  portrait  busts  are  chef 
d'&uvres  in  the  plastic  art,  unequalled  for  beauty  and  correct 
delineation  of  the  human  form.  To  those  to  whom  a  saving 
of  time  is  important,  Mr.  Browere's  method  must  receive  the 
preference,  were  it  solely  on  that  ground.  As  to  the  effect  of 


Life   Masks  97 

the  operation,  none  need  apprehend  the  least  danger  or  incon- 
venience; it  is  perfectly  safe  and  not  disagreeable,  for  while 
the  plastic  material  is  applying  to  the  skin,  a  sensation  both 
harmless  and  agreeable  produces  a  pleasant  glow  or  heat  some- 
what similar  to  that  which  is  felt  on  entering  a  warm  bath; 
neither  does  the  composition  affect  the  eyes,  which  are  covered 
with  it.  Too  much  commendation  of  Mr.  Browere's  rare  and 
invaluable  invention  cannot  be  made.  May  he  derive  benefits 
from  his  art  equal  to  his  merit.  Hoping  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  my  friends  in  New  York  during  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  I  remain,  Dear  Sir, 

Your  obt.  servant 

DAVID  PORTER. 


XIV 

Richard  Rush 

(HE  clean-cut  features  of  Richard  Rush  recall  a 
statesman  and  a  scholar  of  "ye  olden  tyme." 
Born  in  Philadelphia,  the  eldest  son  of  that 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  who, 
both  politician  and  physician,  has  been  termed 
the  Sydenham  of  America, —  Doctor  Benjamin  Rush, —  and  a 
kinsman  of  William  Rush,  the  first  American  sculptor,  men- 
tioned in  the  second  chapter  of  this  book, —  Richard  Rush  was 
bred  to  the  bar,  and  gained  distinction,  soon  after  attaining  his 
majority,  by  his  defence  of  William  Duane,  the  editor  of  the 
"Aurora"  newspaper,  accused  of  libelling  Governor  McKean. 
When  only  thirty  he  entered  public  life  by  becoming  Attor- 
ney-General of  Pennsylvania,  and  at  thirty-four  was  a  member 
of  the  cabinet  of  President  Madison,  as  Attorney-General  of  the 

United  States.      Three  years  later,  he  was  for  a  brief  period 

98 


RICHARD  RUSH 

Age  45 


-d  Rush 


Declarati 


r,  men- 
rd  R 


.*d  States 


Life   Masks  99 

Secretary  of  State,  and  then  minister  from  the  United  States 
to  Great  Britain,  being  recalled,  in  1825,  to  become  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  under  John  Quincy  Adams.  It  was  at  this 
period  that  Browere  made  his  mask.  Rush  was  subsequently 
candidate  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket  with  John  Quincy 
Adams  when  Mr.  Adams  sought  a  second  term. 

The  career  of  Richard  Rush  was  not  only  public,  but  it  was 
important,  and  not  the  least  of  his  wide-spread  benefits  were  his 
successful  efforts  in  securing  for  this  government  the  munifi- 
cent legacy  of  James  Smithson;  this  was  the  foundation  upon 
which  has  been  reared  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  has 
done  so  much  for  scientific  pursuits  in  this  country.  James 
Smithson  was  a  natural  son  of  Hugh  Smithson,  Duke  of  North- 
umberland, and  died  in  Genoa,  June  27,  1829,  aged  about 
seventy-five  years.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  and  took 
up  the  study  of  natural  philosophy,  for  his  expertness  in  several 
branches  of  which  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Royal  So- 
ciety and  of  the  French  Institute.  He  travelled  extensively, 
and  formed  a  very  valuable  cabinet  of  minerals  which  came  into 
possession  of  the  Institute  founded  by  his  liberality,  but  which 
was  unfortunately  destroyed  in  the  Smithsonian  fire  of  1865. 

Smithson's  illegitimate  birth  seems  to  have  engendered  a 
desire  for  posthumous  fame,  as  he  wrote:  "The  best  blood  of 
England  flows  in  my  veins ;  on  my  father's  side  I  am  a  North- 
umberland, on  my  mother's  I  am  related  to  kings ;  but  it  avails 


ioo  Life   Masks 

me  not.  My  name  shall  live  in  the  memory  of  man  when 
the  titles  of  the  Northumberlands  and  the  Percys  are  extinct 
and  forgotten."  To  carry  out  this  desire  he  bequeathed  his 
whole  property,  after  the  expiration  of  a  life  estate,  "to  the 
United  States  for  the  purpose  of  founding  an  institution  at 
Washington,  to  be  called  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

Although  Smithson  died  in  1829,  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment was  not  advised  of  the  gift  until  six  years  afterward, 
when  the  life  estate  fell  in,  and  the  will  was  thrown  into 
chancery.  It  was  then  that  Richard  Rush  was  appointed,  by 
President  Jackson,  special  representative  of  the  government  to 
pursue  and  secure  the  property.  He  was  successful,  and  re- 
turned to  this  country,  in  August  of  1838,  with  the  legacy, 
amounting  to  upwards  of  half  a  million  of  dollars.  Nothing 
was  done  for  quite  eight  years  toward  carrying  into  effect  the 
bequest  of  Smithson,  except  to  ask  advice,  from  eminent  scholars 
and  educators,  as  to  the  best  means  of  fulfilling  the  testator's 
intention.  The  consensus  of  opinion  was  in  favor  of  a  univer- 
sity or  school  for  higher  education,  but  Mr.  Rush  objected  to 
a  school  of  any  kind,  and  proposed  a  plan  which  more  nearly 
corresponded,  than  any  other  of  the  early  ones,  with  that  which 
was  finally  adopted.  Thus,  both  in  securing  the  legacy,  and 
directing  the  curriculum  of  the  institution,  Richard  Rush  took 
a  most  important  part. 


Life   Masks  V 

Mr.  Rush's  last  official  service  was  as  minister  to  France, 
during  the  eventful  years  of  1847  to  l%5l>  anc^  ^e  was  ^e 
first  representative  of  a  foreign  power  to  recognize  the  new 
republic.  He  had  a  fine  literary  sense,  which  he  did  not  fail 
to  cultivate,  and  his  "Narrative  of  a  Residence  at  the  Court 
of  London,"  and  "Washington  in  Domestic  Life,"  from  the 
papers  of  Tobias  Lear,  are  standard  works.  It  may  not  be 
without  interest  to  add  that  Mr.  Rush  was  the  author  of  the 
famous  game  "Twenty  Questions,"  which  has  been  thought 
worthy  of  the  consideration  of  some  of  the  brightest  minds  in 
Europe  and  in  America. 


XV 


Edwin  Forrest 


many  years  Edwin  Forrest  was  regarded  as 
the  greatest  of  American  tragedians,  his  nearest 
rival  being  his  namesake  Edwin  Booth.  Now 
that  the  great  leveller,  death,  has  claimed  them 
both,  it  may  be  questioned  if  Forrest's  suprem- 
acy is  maintained.  The  animal  was  so  uppermost  in  For- 
rest's nature  and  person  that  he  was  unsuited  to  the  delineation 
of  the  finer  types  of  character,  and  therefore  his  greatest 
achievements  were  in  robust  parts  requiring  physical  power, 
where  he  could  rant  and  rage  at  will.  In  youth  he  must  have 
had  a  singularly  handsome  face,  and  he  was  but  twenty-one, 
in  1827,  when  Browere  made  his  life  mask.  It  was  during 
an  engagement  at  the  old  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  when 
Forrest  was  playing  "William  Tell."  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  head,  which  is  finely  classical,  of  the  Roman  type, 
appears  to  be  bald,  while  Forrest  took  great  pride  in  his 


102 


EDWIN  FORREST 
Age  21 


*-     < 


i  to  the  delineation 
•efore    his   greatest 


''-.-• 

i.  W  l_  1  i  \.  > 


Forrest    was    pla  -,*'  »:  t 

that    the    head,  which  is  finely  classical,  of  the   Roman 


Life   Masks  103 

luxurious  locks.  This  effect  happened  in  this  wise.  Forrest  was 
a  novice  on  the  stage  and  had  just  made  his  first  appearance  as 
William  Tell.  Browere  saw  the  performance,  and  was  so  struck 
with  the  personality  of  the  young  actor  that  he  asked  permission 
to  take  his  mask.  Forrest  consented,  but  was  so  afraid  the  ma- 
terial of  the  mould  might  cling  to  his  hair,  that  he  insisted  upon 
wearing  a  skull-cap  during  the  operation.  Some  faces  change 
so  much  from  youth  to  age  that  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  trace  any  resemblance  of  the  beginning  in  the  end.  But 
the  characteristics  of  feature  and  expression  in  Browere's  bust 
of  Forrest  are  also  to  be  found  in  his  latest  photographs. 

The  tragedian  was  born  in  old  Southwark,  Philadelphia, 
March  9,  1806,  and  was  "stage  struck"  almost  from  infancy, 
playing  girl's  parts  when  only  twelve  years  old.  In  his  fif- 
teenth year  he  made  his  debut  at  the  Walnut  Street  theatre, 
Philadelphia,  as  young  Norva/in  the  tragedy  of"  Douglas"  ;  and 
before  he  was  twenty-one  had  gained  considerable  reputation 
and  had  played  Othello  before  a  New  York  audience.  From 
this  time  he  enjoyed  a  vacillating  reputation,  but  was  always 
the  stage  idol  of  the  masses,  while  his  intense  personality  kept 
him  from  appealing  to  the  refinements  of  intellect.  He  died 
at  Philadelphia,  December  12,  1872,  leaving  his  fortune,  books 
and  paintings  to  a  home  for  aged  actors  to  be  called  the  For- 
rest Home ;  but  his  estate  was  largely  crippled  by  claims  for 
unpaid  alimony  due  to  his  divorced  wife,  so  the  home  is  not 
exactly  what  Forrest  intended  that  it  should  be. 


XVI 


Martin  Van  Buren 


)HE  latest  work  that  we  have  from  the  hand  of 
Browere,  is  the  bust  from  the  life  mask  of 
"  the  Little  Magician,"  as  Martin  Van  Buren 
was  called,  made  in  1833,  the  year  before 
Browere's  death.  Van  Buren  was  then  in  his 
fifty-first  year,  and  he  lived  until  July  24,  1862.  His  life 
covered  a  longer  era  and  his  career  witnessed  greater  changes  in 
national  life  than  those  of  any  other  man  who  has  occupied 
the  presidential  chair.  He  was  born  and  died  in  Kinderhook, 
Columbia  county,  New  York;  studied  law  with  William  P. 
Van  Ness,  the  friend  of  Burr ;  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on 
attaining  his  majority.  He  was  fitted  by  taste  and  tempera- 
ment for  politics,  and  politics  were  fitted  for  him. 

As  early  as  his  eighteenth  year,  before  he  had  a  vote,  Van 
Buren  was  chosen  to  take  part  in  a  local  nominating  conven- 

104 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN 
Age  51 


462.      His   hie 
•**r  man  who  has  occupied 

«     *'^i    •       V'     A      V\  —     • 

McA  law  with   \Villiam   P. 
o  th*-  bar  on 


As  earlv  as  hi*   .  ,  -       .%  '•   v^ar,  hetore 
Buren  was  chosm  ^    f  jkt-   r^rt  ??>,  a  local, 


MAV   VUTMAM 

I?    3§A 


J  r  r, 


Life   Masks  105 

tion  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  could  act,  as  well  as  speak,  he  became 
an  ardent  adherent  of  the  Jeffersonian  democracy.  His  first 
office  was  surrogate  of  his  native  county,  which  place  he  held 
for  five  years ;  and  when,  in  i  8 1 1,  the  proposed  recharter  of  the 
United  States  Bank  was  the  leading  question  of  Federal  poli- 
tics, Van  Buren  took  an  active  part  against  the  measure.  The 
following  year  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  New  York,  and 
supported  President  Madison  and  the  War  with  England, 
drawing  up  the  resolution  of  thanks,  voted  by  the  legislature, 
to  General  Jackson  for  his  victory  at  New  Orleans. 

In  1815,  Van  Buren  became  Attorney-General  of  New 
York,  from  which  office  he  was  removed  four  years  later, 
owing  to  his  refusal  to  adhere  to  De  Witt  Clinton,  whose 
policy,  excepting  as  regarded  the  canal,  he  did  not  approve. 
The  politics  of  New  York  were  in  a  most  feverish  and  topsy- 
turvy state,  and  the  many  factions  could  not  combine  to  elect 
a  United  States  senator  in  1818-19,  until  Van  Buren,  by  his 
moderation  and  his  genius  for  political  organization,  brought 
about  order  and  harmony,  and  Rufus  King,  a  political  oppo- 
nent of  Van  Buren,  was  chosen  to  the  high  office.  Two 
years  later  Van  Buren  was  rewarded  by  being  also  sent  to  the 
Senate,  and  about  the  same  time  was  chosen  delegate  to  the 
convention  which  reviewed  the  Constitution  of  New  York. 
In  this  body  he  sought  to  limit  the  elective  franchise  to 
householders,  that  this  invaluable  right  of  citizenship  might 


io6  Life   Masks 

not  be  cheapened  and  the  rural  districts  overborne  by  the 
cities.  Unfortunately  he  was  in  the  minority,  or  such  a  benefi- 
cent provision  might  have  spread  over  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land,  so  that  the  elective  franchise  would  have  retained 
the  value  of  its  high  prerogative,  and  not  become  the  valueless 
and  unwieldy  burden  that  it  now  is.  Van  Buren  also  opposed 
an  elective  judiciary,  in  both  of  which  positions  he  was  in 
opposition  to  his  own  party. 

In  the  United  States  Senate  he  was  for  many  years  chairman 
of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  and,  on  the  Florida  territorial  bill 
voted  against  the  increase  of  slavery.  He  was  a  strict  con- 
structionist  of  the  Constitution,  recognizing  that  as  the  only 
safe  canon  of  interpretation  for  a  fundamental  law;  and  he 
had  pronounced  views  in  favor  of  State  rights  and  against  the 
power  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  to  overthrow  State 
laws,  believing  this  contrary  to  the  provision  of  the  Constitu- 
tion insuring  the  inviolability  of  contracts. 

In  1828  he  was  called  from  the  Senate  to  the  gubernatorial 
chair  of  New  York,  and,  supporting  Jackson  for  the  Presi- 
dency, was  made  by  him  Secretary  of  State,  which  office  he 
resigned  to  accept  the  English  mission ;  but,  by  the  opposition 
of  John  C.  Calhoun,  he  was  not  confirmed.  This  discreditable 
action  increased  Van  Buren's  popularity,  and  he  succeeded  Cal- 
houn as  Vice-President  for  Jackson's  second  term,  soon  being 
regarded  as  the  lineal  successor  to  the  Presidency.  He  was 


Life  Masks  107 

elected,  over  Harrison  and  over  Webster,  pledged  to  oppose 
any  interference  with  slavery  in  the  slave  States.  The  ruling 
act  of  his  administration  was  one  for  the  lasting  benefit  of  the 
nation,  which  never  should  be  forgotten.  In  his  first  message 
to  Congress  he  deprecated  the  deposit  of  public  moneys  in 
private  banks,  which  had  followed  Jackson's  removal  of  the 
deposits  from  the  United  States  Bank,  and  urged  an  indepen- 
dent treasury  for  the  safe-keeping  and  disbursements  of  the 
public  money ;  but  it  was  not  until  near  the  close  of  his 
administration  that  he  secured  congressional  assent  to  the 
measure.  This  has  been  far-reaching  in  its  beneficial  effects, 
and  too  much  honor  cannot  be  accorded  Van  Buren,  for  his 
action  in  the  matter,  which  has  saved  the  treasury  from  great 
financial  disruptions.  Notwithstanding  this,  his  administration 
went  down  in  a  cloud,  and  he  was  overwhelmingly  defeated 
for  a  second  term. 

Van  Buren  was  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery,  but  on 
all  other  points  was  an  uncompromising  Democrat.  On  this 
platform  he  was  again  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  in  1848, 
with  Charles  Francis  Adams  as  Vice-President.  The  result 
of  his  candidature  was  the  defeat  of  General  Cass,  the  regular 
Democratic  nominee,  and  the  election  of  General  Taylor. 
After  this  he  retired  from  public  life  and  devoted  his  time  to 
the  writing  of  his  "  Inquiry  into  the  Origin  and  Course  of 
Political  Parties  in  the  United  States,"  a  work  which  has  been 


io8  Life   Masks 

called  more  an  apology  than  a  history.  When  the  Civil  War 
came  upon  the  nation,  Van  Buren  gave  zealous  support  to  the 
National  Government.  He  was  an  intense  partisan,  masterful 
in  leadership,  reducing  politics  to  a  fine  art.  It  has  been  well 
said  that,  "  combining  the  statesman's  foresight  with  the  poli- 
tician's tact,  he  showed  his  sagacity,  rather  by  seeking  a 
majority  for  his  views  than  by  following  the  views  of  a  ma- 
jority." He  was  far  from  being  a  demagogue,  and  he  was 
frequently  found  fighting  on  the  unpopular  side.  His  convic- 
tions were  strong,  and  he  adhered  to  them  with  tenacity. 
While  from  peculiar  circumstances  his  public  career  has  been 
the  subject  of  much  partisan  denunciation,  he  is  entitled,  both 
for  activity  and  ability,  to  a  higher  niche  in  the  temple  of 
fame  than  is  commonly  accorded  him.  Van  Buren  was  small 
in  stature  and  of  blond  coloring.  The  physiognomist  would 
accord  to  him  penetration,  quickness  of  apprehension  and 
benevolence  of  disposition,  while  the  phrenologist  would  add 
unusual  reflective  faculties,  firmness  and  caution. 


XVII 

Death  Mask  of  James  Monroe 

>HE  masks  that  Browere  made  from  the  sub- 
ject in  full  life,  must  not  be  confused  in  any 
sense  with  the  more  common  mask  made  after 
death.  This  confusion  could  not  occur  with 
any  one  who  has  had  an  opportunity  to  observe 
Browere's  work  or  to  make  comparison  with  the  reproductions 
in  this  book ;  but  persons  not  familiar  with  these  portrait  busts, 
and  having  only  some  knowledge  of  masks  made  after  death, 
or  of  such  life  masks  as  Clark  Mills  made, —  which  are  thor- 
oughly death-like  in  their  character, —  might  easily  fall  into 
such  an  error,  and,  looking  upon  the  latter  as  repulsive  and 
worthless  as  portraiture,  give  no  heed  to  the  different  character 
and  true  value  of  Browere's  living  likenesses. 

Mr.   Laurence  Hutton,  in  his  very  curious  and   interesting 
volume  entitled  "Portraits  in  Plaster,"  says:  "The  value  of  a 

109 


no  Life   Masks 

plaster  cast  as  a  portrait  of  the  dead  or  living  face  cannot  for 
a  moment  be  questioned.  It  must  of  necessity  be  absolutely 
true  to  nature.  It  cannot  flatter;  it  cannot  caricature.  It 
shows  the  subject  as  he  was,  not  only  as  others  saw  him  in  the 
actual  flesh,  but  as  he  saw  himself.  And  in  the  case  of  a 
death  mask  particularly,  it  shows  the  subject  often  as  he  per- 
mitted no  one  but  himself  to  see  himself.  He  does  not  pose; 
he  does  not  'try  to  look  pleasant.'  In  his  mask  he  is  seen, 
as  it  were,  with  his  mask  off." 

I  do  not  quote  these  words,  of  my  accomplished  friend  Mr. 
Hutton,  simply  for  the  purpose  of  combating  them,  but  to 
show  how  differently  two,  perfectly  sincere,  honest  delvers 
after  historic  truth,  can  see  the  same  thing.  Having  made 
portraiture  my  study  for  many  years,  and  thus  having  in  my 
mind's  eye,  indelibly  fixed,  the  faces  of  legions  of  public  men, 
I  have  yet  to  see  a  death  mask  that  I  could  recognize  at  sight ; 
many  I  could  recall  when  told  whose  masks  they  were,  but 
more  yet  have,  to  my  vision,  no  resemblance  whatever  to  the 
living  man.  Mr.  Story,  the  eminent  American  sculptor  but 
recently  deceased,  recognized  how  untrustworthy  even  life 
masks  are  as  portraits.  In  speaking  of  what  is  claimed  to 
be  Houdon's  original  mask  of  Washington,  which  Mr.  Story 
owned,  he  wrote :  "Indeed,  a  mask  from  the  living  face, 
though  it  repeats  exactly  the  true  forms  of  the  original,  lacks 
the  spirit  and  expression  of  the  real  person."  So  true  is  this, 


Life   Masks 


iii 


that  when  Mr.  St.  Gaudens  first  saw  Clark  Mills's  life  mask  of 
President  Lincoln,  he  insisted  that  it  was  a  death  mask;  for, 
without  "the  spirit  and  expression,"  where  can  the  likeness  be? 
As  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  says  in  one  of  his  Discourses:  "In 
portraits,  the  grace  and,  we  may  add,  the  likeness  consists 
more  in  taking  the  general  air  than  in  observing  the  exact 
similitude  of  every  feature."  In  photography  we  have  "  the 
exact  similitude  of  every  feature,"  yet  how  often  are  photo- 
graphs bad  likenesses,  because  they  lack  "the  spirit  and  ex- 
pression" ! 

While  it  is  possible  to  preserve  "the  spirit  and  expression" 
as  well  as  to  give  "the  exact  similitude  of  every  feature"  in  a 
life  mask,  as  exemplified  in  the  marvellous  work  of  Browere, 
it  is  impossible  in  a  death  mask,  for  these  evanescent  qualities 
are  then  gone.  I  am  not  quite  certain  that  even  "the  exact 
similitude  of  every  feature"  is  preserved  in  a  death  mask;  cer- 
tainly the  natural  relation  of  one  feature  to  another  is  not. 
The  death  mask  may,  to  a  degree,  be  a  correct  reproduction 
of  the  bony  structure,  but  only  to  a  limited  degree  as  it  was  in 
nature,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  the  ligaments,  holding  the 
sections  of  bone  together  in  their  proper  places,  become  re- 
laxed with  dissolution,  and  the  bones  lose  their  exact  positions, 
which  condition  even  the  slight  weight  of  the  plaster  in- 
creases. 

Masks,  too,  will  sometimes  approach  caricature,  if  they  will 


ii2  Life   Masks 

not  flatter,  for  they  will  reproduce  peculiarities  of  formation 
which  may  not  be  observable  superficially.  This  view  is  em- 
phasized by  Lavater  in  his  "Physiognomy,"  as  quoted  by  Mr. 
Hutton.  Lavater  writes:  "The  dead  and  the  impressions  of 
the  dead,  taken  in  plaster,  are  not  less  worthy  of  observation 
[than  the  living  faces].  The  settled  features  are  much  more 
prominent  than  in  the  living  and  in  the  sleeping.  What  life 
makes  fugitive,  death  arrests.  What  was  undefinable,  is  de- 
fined. All  is  reduced  to  its  proper  level;  each  trait  is  in  its 
exact  proportion,  unless  excruciating  disease  or  accident  have 
preceded  death."  This  is  undoubtedly  true  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  physiognomist,  and  it  is  his  much  desired  vantage- 
ground,  for  his  only  object  is  to  read  the  features  laid  bare. 

From  Browere's  hand  we  have  but  one  death  mask,  and 
although  it  is  open  to  much  of  the  objection  urged  against 
death  masks  generally,  it  is  superior  to  any  other  death  mask 
I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  it  was  made  after 
life  was  gone,  so  vibrant  with  life  it  seems.  It  possesses  more 
living,  breathing  qualities  than  the  life  masks  made  by  other 
men.  If  any  proof  were  needed  of  the  inestimable  value  of 
Browere's  lost  process  for  making  masks,  it  can  be  found  in 
the  quality  of  this  death  mask  of  James  Monroe. 

Monroe's  name  is  perhaps  more  familiarly  known  to  the 
public  than  that  of  any  other  President,  save  Washington  and 
Lincoln,  owing  to  its  association  with  the  doctrine,  which  he 


DEATH  MASK  OF  JAMES  MONROE 


Life   Masks 

not  riAtzer,  lor  they  v\  ill  reproduce  peculiarities  of  formation 

f  observable  .superficially,  is  em- 

pha^/ed   by   L«ivater  in  hi*  M  Physiognuirr       a>  quoted  by  Mr. 

Hutiofi.      Lavater  writes:  "The  dead  *&£  the  impressions  of 

i he  dead,  taken  in  plaster,  are  not  less  worthy  «  r 
rh.ui  the  living  faces].     The  settled  features  art   ***•&  JMMTI 

makes  fugitive,  death  arrests.  What  wa  ur.u<'t- liable,  is  de- 
fined. All  is  reduced  to  its  proper  level;  each  trait  is  in  its 
exact  proportion.  ise  or  accident  have 

1  death."     This  it  undoubtedly  true  from  the  p;  • 


BrowereV  baiftdl  wr  bave  but  one  death    mask,  and 

»t   is  oped   ro  «n<-.  5t         tiie  objection   urged    against 

m»ftks  gcncrailv.  it       superior  ro  «»>  other  death  mask 

I  have  ever  »eciu      ft  k  difficult  to  believe  it  was  made  after 

lilt:  was  gonr ,  s.:-  vibr^nr  with  life  it  seems.     It  possesses  more 

:    'he  life  nia^kr   made  by  other 
men.      If  any  pr?»af  wr       -.ceded  of  the  inestimable 

making  masks,  it  can  be  f 
ol  this  deaib  m-*bk  of  James  Monroe. 

r-.t:ne_ifi  perhaps  more  famitmrly  k»own  ?o  UK 
public  than  th.it  of  any  -h  President,  save  W.ishin^t..-;*  and 
Lincoln,  o  us  a^xi :-.?<•  :  with  the  doctrine,  which  he 


Life   Masks  113 

promulgated,  of  non-interference  on  the  western  hemisphere  by 
European  nations,  known  as  the  "Monroe  Doctrine."  He  was 
the  fourth  of  the  seven  Virginian  Presidents,  and  left  William 
and  Mary  College,  when  only  eighteen,  as  a  lieutenant  in  Hugh 
Mercer's  regiment,  to  join  Washington's  army.  He  served 
throughout  the  Revolutionary  War,  having  been  wounded 
at  Trenton,  and  was  present  at  Monmouth,  Brandywine,  and 
Germantown.  In  1782  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Assembly 
of  Virginia,  and  later  was  a  delegate  to  Congress.  Monroe 
took  an  active  part  in  the  controversy  relative  to  the  settlement 
of  the  Northwest  Territory,  which  was  quieted  only  by  the  Or- 
dinance of  1787;  and  although  he  had  a  hand  in  originating 
the  convention  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the  General  Govern- 
ment, he  was  not  a  member  of  it,  and  opposed  the  ratification 
of  its  work. 

He  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  1790, 
and  held  the  office  until  he  was  sent  as  minister  to  France, 
four  years  later.  He  was  a  bitter  anti-Federalist  and  oppo- 
nent of  the  administration  of  Washington,  so  that  his  appoint- 
ment to  France  came  as  a  great  surprise;  and  his  action  in 
recognizing  the  Republic,  was  an  even  greater  surprise  to  his 
home  government.  For  this  he  was  reprimanded,  and  on  his 
return  published  a  defence  of  his  conduct.  He  was  Governor 
of  Virginia,  from  1797  to  1802,  and  returned  to  France  as 
special  envoy  to  negotiate  with  Napoleon  the  purchase  of 


ii4  Life   Masks 

Louisiana.  He  was  again  Governor  of  Virginia,  but  resigned 
to  accept  the  portfolio  of  state  in  Madison's  cabinet,  which 
was  the  stepping-stone  to  the  succession  in  the  Presidency. 
This  high  office  he  held  for  two  terms,  and  for  the  last  term 
there  was  only  one  electoral  vote  cast  against  him.  It  was  in 
the  second  year  of  his  second  term,  1823,  that  he  enunciated 
the  famous  Monroe  Doctrine  of  "Hands  off!"  contained  in 
two  brief  paragraphs  in  his  annual  message,  which  doctrine  is 
logically  nullified  by  the  present  foreign  policy  of  the  country. 

Monroe's  administration  has  been  designated  "the  Era  of 
Good  Feeling,"  and  he  should  always  be  remembered  as  an 
upright  and  honest  politician.  As  is  too  often  the  case  with 
men  who  give  their  best  years  to  the  public  service,  his  latter 
days  were  burdened  by  intense  poverty,  and  he  died  in  New 
York,  July  4,  1831,  almost  in  want. 

In  person  Monroe  was  tall,  well  formed,  and  with  a  fair 
complexion  and  blue  eyes.  The  well-known  portraits  of  him, 
by  Stuart  and  by  Vanderlyn,  fail  to  bestow  any  signs  of  recog- 
nition upon  Browere's  death  mask;  but  it  is  true  these  two 
portraits  were  painted  a  score  and  more  years  before  Monroe's 
death.  While,  as  has  been  said,  it  is  far  more  life-like  than 
many  life  casts,  its  reproduction  only  serves  to  emphasize  my 
views  as  to  the  little  value  of  death  masks  as  portraits. 


Addendum  to  Chapter 


Since  this  chapter  went  to  press  there  has  been  published 
Roland's  "Life  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,"  and  upon 
page  342,  of  Volume  II,  there  appears  the  following  letter 
from  Charles  Carroll,  upon  his  bust,  by  Browere,  which  is  too 
important  not  to  be  given  a  place  here: 

DOUGHOREGAN    MANOR,   July   29,    1826. 

Sir: 

Mr.  Browere  has  produced  and  read  to  me  several  letters 
from  sundry  most  respectable  personages  ;  on  their  recommen- 
dation and  at  his  request  I  sat  to  him  to  take  my  bust.  He 
has  taken  it,  and  in  my  opinion  and  that  of  my  family,  and  of 
all  who  have  seen  it,  the  resemblance  is  most  striking.  The 
operation  from  its  commencement  to  its  completion  was  per- 
formed in  two  hours,  with  very  little  inconvenience  and  no 
pain  to  myself.  This  bust  Mr.  Browere  contemplates  placing, 
with  many  others,  in  a  national  gallery  of  busts.  That  his 

"5 


n6  Addendum 

efforts  may  be  crowned  with  success  is  my  earnest  wish.  That 
his  talents  and  genius  deserve  it  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pro- 
nouncing. I  remain,  with  great  respect,  Sir,  your  most  humble 

servant 

CH.  CARROLL  OF  CARROLLTON. 

To  ARCHIBALD  ROBERTSON,  Eso^ 

In  "Niles's  Register'*  for  August  12,  1826,  (Volume  XXX, 
page  411,)  is  given  an  account  of  this  bust  and  its  public  ex- 
hibition at  the  Exchange  in  Baltimore. 


Index 


Adams  Family,  50 

C.  F.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Minister  to  England,  51,  55 

Letter  to  Browere,  54 

Birth  and  death,  55 

Services  to  his  country,  55 

Nominated  for  Vice-President,  107 
John.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Minister  to  England,  5 1 

Birth  and  death,  51 

Browere  visits  him,  51 
Makes  mask,  52 

Certificate  to  Browere,  52 

Stuart's  portrait  of,  52 

Mentioned,  19,  43,  46 
J.  0^     Mask  by  Browere,  17,  54 

Minister  to  England,  51 

And  Gilbert  Stuart,  53 

Birth  and  death,  54 

Unpopular,  55 

Supported  by  Clay,  75 
T.  B.,  certificate  to  Browere,  52 
Alexander,  Cosmo.     Instructed  Stuart,  81 
Who  he  was,  81 
Took  Stuart  to  Scotland,  81 
Death  of,  8 1 
Alexander  the  Great,  3 
Andre,  John.      Masks  of  captors  of,  I  5 
Personality,  30 
Case  an  aggravated  one,  30 
Puerile  plea,  30 


Suffered  justly,  30 

Mentioned,  28,  29,  31,  32,  33 
Antagonism  between  art  factions,  25 
Anthony,    Elizabeth,    mother    of   Gilbert 

Stuart,  80 

Architecture  subordinate  to  Sculpture,  2 
Arnold,  B.,  mentioned,  28,  30 
Art  in  America  influenced  by  foreigners,  10 

Public  patronage  of,  17 

Protection  of  works  of,  1 7 

Bainbridge,  W.,  exploits  in  war  of  1812, 

93 

Barbour,  P.  P.,  mask  by  Browere,  17 
Barre,  Isaac,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Beauty,  the  Greek  idea  of,  2 
Berkhoven,   Adam,  ancestor   of  Browere, 

13 
Bogardus,  Annetje,  ancestor  of  Browere,  13 

Edward,  ancestor  of  Browere,  1 3 
Booth,  Edwin,  rival  of  Forrest,  102 
Bottari,  G.,  authority,  3 
Boydell,  J.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 

Shakespeare  Gallery,  89 
Brouwer,  Adam,  ancestor  of  Browere,  1 3 
Jacob  Adam,  ancestor  of  Browere,  1 3 
Browere,  Jacob,  father  of  J.  H.  I.  Brow- 
ere, 1 2  • 

A.  D.  O.     Birth  and  death,  26 
Gains  prizes,  26,  27 
His  paintings,  27 


117 


n8 


Index 


Visits  California,  27 
Added  draperies  to  busts,  27 
Preserved  busts,  27 
J.  H.  I.,  3,  4,  10 

Birth,  parentage,  and  death,  1 2,  1 3 

Ancestry,  13 

At  Columbia  College,  13 

Marriage,  1 3 

Pupil  of  A.  Robertson,  1 3 

Travels  abroad,  14 

Bust  of  A.  Hamilton,  14 

Experiments  making  masks,  1 5 

First  life  mask,  1 5 

Mask  of  Pierrepont  Edwards,  1 5 

Masks  of  the  captors  of  Andre,  1 5 

Exhibits  at  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  1 5 

Mask  of  La  Fayette,  1 6 

Writes  to  Madison,  16,  17 

Costs  of  making  masks,  16 

List  of  masks  by,  17 

Disheartened,  18 

His  process,  18 

Opposition  to  his  work,  18 

Treatment  of  Jefferson,  18 

Method  without  discomfort,  19 

Letter  to  Trumbull,  19 

Kept  out  of  Academy  of  Design,  20 

Remark  on  Dunlap,  21 

Letter  to  American  Academy,  21 

Death-bed  directions,  25 

Exhibition  of  busts,  25 

Nature  of  work,  25 

Compared  with  Clark  Mills,  26 

Mask  of  John  Paulding,  32 

Isaac  Van  Wart,  34 

David  Williams,  35 
Suffocation  of  Jefferson  by,  36 
Discovery  of  busts,  38 
Visits  Monticello,  39 
Mask  of  Jefferson,  39 
Certificate  from  Jefferson  to,  40  ' 
Newspaper  attack  on,  41 
Letters  to  Jefferson,  42,  45 

M.  M.  Noah,  42 
Whole-length  statue  of  Jefferson,  43, 

45>  46 


Letter  from  Jefferson,  44 

De  Witt  Clinton  congratulates,  47 

Visits  John  Adams,  5 1 

Mask  of  John  Adams,  52 

Certificate  from  John  Adams,  52 

Mask  of  J.  Q^  Adams,  54 

C.  F.  Adams,  55 
Introduced  to  Madison,  57 
Masks  of  the  Madisons,  59 
Mask  of  Charles  Carroll,  61,  115 
Letter  from  S.  L.  Mitchill,  62 
His  workshop,  Broadway,  64 
Mask  of  La  Fayette,  66 
Letter  from  E.  W.  King,  66 
Mask  of  Clinton,  71 
Letter  from  T.  A.  Emmet,  71 
Mask  of  H.  Clay,  73 
Encouraged  by  Stuart,  76 
Certificate  from  Stuart,  77 
Mask  of  D.  Porter,  95 
Material  used,  96 
Mask  of  R.  Rush,  99 

E.  Forrest,  103 

M.  Van  Buren,  104 
Death  mask  of  J.  Monroe,  112 
Brown,  J.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Letter  to  Madison,  57 
Buchan,  Earl  of  (David  Stuart),  13 

Calhoun,  J.  C.,  opposes  Van  Buren,   106 
Captors  of  Andre.     Characters  attacked,  29 

Vindicated,  30,  31 
Carroll,  C.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Reason  of  his  signature,  60 

Personal  description,  61 

Granddaughters  marry  noblemen,  61 

Letter  on  Browere's  bust,  115 

Mentioned,  19,  46 
Cass,  L.,  defeated  for  President,  107 
Casts,  invention  of  making  life,  3 
Caton,  Mrs.,  daughter  of  C.  Carroll,  61 
Ceracchi,  G.,  influence  on  American  art, 

1 1 

Chalmers,  G.,  a  Scotch  painter,  82 
Chambers,  G.,  meant  for  Chalmers,  82 
Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  5 


Index 


119 


Clay,  H.      Mask  by  Browere,  17,  73 

Personal  appearance,  74 

Birth  and  death,  74 

Duel  with  H.  Marshall,  74 

His  ambition,  75 

Cleveland,    Mrs.    Grover,   her   attractive- 
ness, 59 
Clinton,  De  W.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Certifies  to  Browere's  busts,  66,  71 

Woodworth's  lines  on  bust  of,  70 

A  politician,  71 

Opposed  by  Van  Buren,  105 
Columbian  Academy,  New  York,  14 
Cooper,  T.,  mask  by  Browere,  17 
Copley,  J.  S.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Cromwell,  O.,  7 

Cruikshank,  W.,  lectures  on  anatomy,  85 
Cummings,  T.  S.,  14,  25 
Gushing,    W.    B.,    exploit   in    the    Civil 
War,  93 

Decatur,  S.,  exploit  in  war  with  Tripoli, 

93 

Delavan,  General,  35 
Derrick,  Eliza,  marries  Browere,  13 
Dewey,  G.,  exploits  in  war  with  Spain, 

93 

Dixey,  J.,  sculptor,  1 1 
Donatello,  3 
Duane,  W.,  libel  on  Governor  McKean, 

98 

Dunlap,  W.,  unreliability  of,  20 
Durand,  J.,  memoir  of  Trumbull,  25 

Earlom,  R.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Eckstein,  J.,  sculptor,  1 1 
Edwards,  P.,  mask  by  Browere,  15 
Emmet,  T.  A.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Letter  to  Browere,  71,  72 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica  on  Stuart,  92 

Facius,  J.  G.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Farragut,   D.   G.,    exploits    in    the    Civil 

War,  93 

Forrest,  E.      Mask  by  Browere,  17,  102 
As  William  Tell,  102 


Birth  and  death,  103 
Fothergill,  A.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Franklin,  B.      Friend  of  P.  Wright,  6 

Profile  by  P.  Wright,  6 
Frazee,  J.,  not  first  American  sculptor,  7, 

10 
Frothingham,  J.,  artist,  23 

Gainsborough,  T.,  credited  with  Stuart's 
work,  87 

Paints  portrait  with  Stuart,  88 

Portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Gait's  statue  of  T.  Jefferson,  48 
Gendon,  Ann  C.,  mother  of  Browere,  12 
George  III,  leaden  statue  of,  5 
Gilpin,  H.  D.,  letter  from  Madison,  37 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  the  Great  Commoner, 

73 
Graham,  J.  A.,  certifies  to  La  Fayette's 

bust,  68 
Grant,  W.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  86 

Exhibited,  87 

Greek  Art.      Beginnings  of,  2 
Perfection  of,  2 
Characteristics  of,  2 

Hall,  J.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Hamilton,  A.      Bust  by  Browere,  14 

Miniature  by  Robertson,  14 

On  captors  of  Andre,  30 
Heath,  J.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Higginson,  T.  W.,  paper  on  Jane  Stuart, 

79 
Hilson,  T.,  mask  by  Browere,  17 

History,  method  of  writing,  48 
Hone,  P.,  mask  by  Browere,  17 
Hoppner,    J.,    marries    daughter     of    P. 
Wright,  6 

Instructs  J.  Wright,  9 
Hosack,  D.,  mask  by  Browere,  17 
Houdon,  J.   A.     Influence    on   American 
art,  1 1 

Method  of  making  mask,  41 

Mask  of  Washington,  no 
Hubard  Gallery,  Stuart's  bust  at,  77 
Hull,  I.,  exploits  in  war  of  1812,  93 


120 


Index 


Humphrey,  O.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Hutton,  L.      Portraits  in  plaster,  38 

Estimate  of  masks,  109 

Views  discussed,  no 

Iconoclasm    regarding  historic   characters, 

3° 

Inman,  H.,  painter,  14 
Irving,  W.,  33,  34 

Jackson,  A.,  opposed  by  Clay,  75 
Jamesone,  G.,  ancestor  of  Alexander,  81 
Jans,  Anneke,  ancestress  of  Browere,  1 3 
Jefferson,  T.      Mask  by  Browere,  17 

Treatment  by  Browere,  18 

Randall's  story  of  suffocation,  36 

Personal  appearance,  37 

Bust  by  Browere,  37 

Its  existence  and  discovery,  37,  38 

Consents  to  have  bust  made,  38 

Browere  makes  mask,  39 

Certificate  to  making  of  mask,  40 

Letter  to  Madison,  41 
From  Browere,  42 

Whole-length  statue  by  Browere,  43 

Letter  to  Browere,  44 

Gait's  statue  of,  48 

Coincidences  in  life  of,  5 1 
Jervis,  Sir  John,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Johnson,  E.,  portrait  of  "Dolly"  Madi- 
son, 59 
Jones,    J.    P.,    exploits    in    Revolutionary 

War,  93 
Jouett,  J.  H.,  exploits  in  Civil  War,  93 

King,  D.,  buys  Browere's  bust  of  Stuart,  79 
E.  W.,  letter  to  Browere,  66 
R.,  elected  senator,  105 

La  Fayette.     Bust  of,  by  Rush,  9 
Mask  of,  by  Browere,  1 6,  64,  66 
Last  visit  to  United  States,  63 
Browere's  mask  injured,  64 
Second  mask  made,  66 

Latrobe,  B.  H.,  on  William  Rush,  8 
J.  H.  B.,  appearance  of  C.  Carroll,  6 1 


Laurens,  H.,  dress  of,  45 

J.,  letter  to,  28 

Lavater,  J.  C.,  on  death  masks,  112 
Lawrence,  T.,  Stuart's  reason  for  leaving 

England,  91 
Leeds,   Duchess  of,  granddaughter   of  C. 

Carroll,  61 
Leinster,  Duke  of,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart, 

89 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  pupil  of  Verocchio,  3 
Lincoln,    A.,    President    of    the     United 

States,  7 

R.,  mother  of  W.  Rush,  7 
Lovell,  P.,  marries  J.  Wright,  5 
Lysippus,  sculptor,  3 
Lysistratus  invents  making  life  casts,  3 

Macomb,  A.,  mask  of,  by  Browere,  17 
McKean,  T.,  libelled  by  Duane,  98 
Madison,  D.   Mask  of,  by  Browere,  17,  59 
Widow  of  J.  Todd,  56 
Browere's  child  named  for,  58 
Beauty  overestimated,  59 
Painted  by  Stuart,  59 
Drawn  by  Johnson,  59 
Attractiveness,  59 
J.      Mask  by  Browere,  17,  59 
Letter  to  H.  D.  Gilpin,  37 
Papers  in  State  Department,  37 
Intercedes  for  Browere,  38 
Certifies  to  Jefferson's  bust,  40 
Letter  to,  from  Jefferson,  41 

Browere,  46 
Character,  56 
Browere  introduced  to,  57 
Letter  to,  from  J.  Brown,  57 
Certifies  to  his  bust,  58 
Manchester,  Duke  of,  portrait  of,  by  Stu- 
art, 89 

Marshall,  H.,  duel  with  H.  Clay,  74 
Mills,  C.      Mentioned,  26,  36 

His  masks,  109,  1 1 1 
Miniature-painting,  treatise  on,  14 
Mitchill,  S.  L.       Mask   of,  by  Browere, 

17 
Letter  to  Browere,  62 


Index 


121 


Monroe,  J.      In  Washington's  army,  113 

Wounded  at  Trenton,  113 

Delegate  to  Congress,  113 

Elected  to  Senate,  1 1 3 

Minister  to  France,  113 

Opposed  Washington,  113 

Governor  of  Virginia,  113,  114 

President,  114 

His  doctrine,  114 

His  administration,  114 

Personal  appearance,  114 

Dies  poor,  114 

Morse,  S.  F.  B.      Portrait  of  La  Fayette 
by,  67 

Inventor  of  telegraph,  68 

Certifies  to  bust  of  La  Fayette,  68 
Morton,  J.    Certifies  to  bust  of  La  Fayette, 

66 
Mott,  V.,  mask  by  Browere,  17 

Newspapers'  attack  on  Browere,  41 
Noah,  M.  M.      Mask  of,  by  Browere,  17 

Mentioned,  42,  61,  96 
Northumberland,  Duke  of,  portrait  of,  by 
Stuart,  89 

Parthenon,  frieze  of  the,  3 
Paulding,  H.,  son  of  John  Paulding,  33 
J.  K.,  nephew  of  John  Paulding,  33 
J.      Mask  by  Browere,  15,  17,  32 
Captor  of  Andre,  28,  31 
Social  position,  32 
Monument,  33 

L.,  grandson  of  John  Paulding,  33 
W.,  brother  of  John  Paulding,  32 
W.  Nephew  of  John  Paulding,  33 

Mayor  of  New  York,  3  3 
Peale,  R.     Portraits  of  La  Fayette,  67 
Portraits  of  Washington,  67 
Certifies  to  La  Fayette' s  bust,  67 
Pericles,  age  of,  2 
Perry,  O.  H.,  exploits   in  war  of  1812, 

93. 

Perugini,  pupil  of  Verocchio,  3 
Pheidias,  sculptor,  2,  3 
Pitt,  W.,  the  Great  Commoner,  73 


Plastic  Art.      What  it  is,  I 

Its  origin,  I 

Its  earliest  form,  I 

Associated  with  worship,  I 
Architecture,  2 

Among  the  Greeks,  2 

Development  in  United  States,  4 
Pliny,  on  Inventor  of  Masks,  3 
Poore,  B.  P.,  plagiarizes  Randall,  36 
Porter,  D.      Mask  of,  by  Browere,  17,  95 

Three  with  same  name,  94 

Distinguished  in  navy,  94 

Commands  Essex,  94 

Captures  Alert,  94 

Sails  around  Cape  Horn,  95 

Surrenders  the  Essex,  95 

Retires  from  navy,  95 

Letter  to  Noah,  96 
Pratt,  E.     Daughter  of  P.  Wright,  6 

Models  profiles  in  wax,  6 
Preble,  E.,  exploits  in  war  with  Tripoli, 
93 

Quincy  Family,  50 
Josiah,  Jr.,  50 
J.,  President  of  Harvard,  50 

Randall,  H.  S.     Story  of  Jefferson's  suffo- 
cation, 36 

Method  of  writing  history,  37 

Statement  refuted,  38 

Criticized,  48 
Raeburn,   H.,   credited    with    picture    by 

Stuart,  87 
Randolph,  Misses,  alarmed,  39 

Master,  peeping,  39 
Redwood  Library.      Stuart's  bust  at,  76 

Stuart's  self-portrait  at,  86 
Reynolds,  J.      Discourses  on  Painting,  85 

Stuart  paints  portrait,  85,  89 

On  portraits,  1 1 1 

Riker,  R.,  member  Com.  of  Councils,  64 
Robertson,  Alexander,  13 

Andrew,  14 

Archibald,  instructor  of  Browere,  1 3 
Treatise  on  miniature-painting,  14 


122 


Index 


Card  from,  1 5 

Emily,  life  of  A.  Robertson,  14 
Romney,   G.,    credited    with    picture    by 

Stuart,  88 
Royal  Academy.      Stuart  pupil  at,  85 

Stuart  exhibits  at,  85,  86 
Rush,  B.,  father  of  R.  Rush,  94 
J.,  screed  on  newspapers,  41 
Joseph,  father  of  W.  Rush,  7 

Married  R.  Lincoln,  7 
R.      Mask  of,  by  Browere,  17,  99 

Attorney-General,  98 

Secretary  of  State,  99 

Minister  to  England,  99 

Secretary  of  Treasury,  99 

Plan  for  Smithsonian  Institution,  100 

Fine  literary  sense,  102 
W.     First  American  Sculptor,  7 

Ancestry,  7 

Career,  8 

Figureheads  for  ships,  8 

Statue  of  Washington,  9 

Bust  of  La  Fayette,  9 

Kinsman  of  R.  Rush,  98 

St.  Gaudens,  A.,  estimate  of  masks,  ill 
Sampson,  W.    T.,  exploits   in   war   with 

Spain,  94 

Sculpture,  the  daughter  of  Architecture,  2 
Sharp,  W.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Shee,    M.   A.,  credited    with    picture   by 

Stuart,  88 
Smithson,  J.     Legacy  to  United  States,  99 

Who  he  was,  99 

Southard,  S.  L.,  mask  of,  by  Browere,  17 
Stafford,  Lady,  granddaughter  of  C.  Car- 
roll, 6 1 

Stewart,  C.     Exploits  in  war  of  1812,  93 
G.      Father  of  the  painter,  79 
Importance  of  name,  80 
Goes  to  Nova  Scotia,  82 
Stone,  W.  L.,  mask  of,  by  Browere,  17 
Story,  W.  W.,  estimate  of  masks,  110 
Stuart,  G.     Mask  of,  by  Browere,  17,  76 
Portrait  of  John  Adams,  53 
"Dolly"  Madison,  59 


Encourages  Browere,  76 
Bust  in  Redwood  Library,  76,  79 
Certificate  to  Browere,  77 
Newspapers  on  bust  of,  77,  78 
Eminence  in  art,  78 
Place  of  birth,  79 
Naming  of,  80 
Education,  80,  81 
Earliest  pictures,  80,  81 
Goes  to  Scotland,  81 
Not  at  University  of  Glasgow,  81 
Returns  to  America,  82,  91 
Goes  to  England,  82 
Becomes  organist,  83 
Apprenticed  to  West,  84,  85 
Exhibits  at  Royal  Academy,  85,  86 
Paints  many  portraits,  85,  86,  89 
Portrait  of  W.  Grant,  87 
Prices  for  portraits,  88 
Prodigality  and  poverty,  90,  91 
Personal  appearance,  90 
Marries  Miss  Coates,  90 
Desire  to  paint  Washington,  91 
Lawrence's  opinion,  91 
Paints  portraits  of  Washington,  91 
Master  in  portraiture,  92 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica  upon,  92 
Two  art  periods,  92 
Buried  in  Potter's  Field,  92 
J.      Daughter  of  G.  Stuart,  78 
Appreciates  Browere's  work,  78 
"One  of  Thackeray's  Women,"  79 

Tallmadge,  B.,  attacks  character  of  Andre's 

captors,  29 

Taylor,  Z.,  elected  President,  107 
Traditions,  no  historical  value,  81 
Trumbull,  J.      Endorsement  on  Browere's 

letter,  20 

Mentioned,  18,  23 
Truxtun,  T.    Exploits  in  war  with  France, 

93 
Captures  U  Insurgente,  94 

Van  Buren,   M.      Mask  of,  by  Browere, 

17,  104 


Index 


123 


Birth  and  death,  104 

Attorney-General,  105 

Governor  of  New  York,  106 

Vice-President,  106 

Elected  President,  107 

Advocates  National  Treasury,  107 

Opposes  extension  of  slavery,  107 

Personal  appearance,  108 
Van  Cortland,  P.,  mask  of,  by  Browere,  17 
Vanderlyn,  J.,  mentioned,  14,  23 
Van  Ness,  W.  P.,  mentioned,  104 
Vanuxem,  L.,  posed  for  W.  Rush,  9 
Van  Wart,  A.,   brother  of  I.  Van  Wart, 

34 

H.,  marries  Irving' s  sister,  34 
I.      Mask  of,  by  Browere,  17,  34 
Birth  and  death,  33 
Youngest  of  captors,  34 
Social  position,  34 
Vasari,  G.,  authority,  3 
Verocchio,  A.,  made  life  masks,  3 
Virginia,  University  of,  47 

Walpole,  R.,  his  doctrine,  30 
Ward,  W.,  mezzotint  portrait  by,  88 
Washington,  G.     Statue  of,  by  W.  Rush,  9 
Portrait  of,  by  J.  Wright,  9 
Cast  of,  by  J.  Wright,  10 
Portrait  of,  by  Robertson,  1 3 


Judgment  on  captors  of  Andre,  3  i 
Portraits  of,  by  Stuart,  91 
Mask  of,  by  Houdon,  1 10 
Waterhouse,  B.,  chum  of  G.  Stuart,  85 
Webster,  D.,  admired,  73 
Wellesley,  Marchioness  of,  granddaughter 

of  C.  Carroll,  61 

West,  B.      Stuart  apprenticed  to,  84 
His  art,  84 

Portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Williams,  D.,  mask  of,  by  Browere,  17,  35 
Birth  and  death,  34 
Sworn  statement  of  capture,  34 
Monument  to,  34 
Woodworth,  S.,  lines  on  Clinton's  bust, 

70 

Woollett,  W.,  portrait  of,  by  Stuart,  89 
Wright,  F. ,  mask  of,  by  Browere,  17 
J.      Son  of  Patience,  9 
Studies  under  West,  9 
Paints  portrait  of  Washington,  9 
Makes  cast  of  Washington,  10 
Bust  of,  by  W.  Rush,  10 
P.      First  American  modeller,  5 
Conversational  powers,  6 
Modelled  Franklin's  profile,  6 
Daughter  of,  marries  J.  Hoppner,  6 
Modelled  statue  of  Chatham,  6 
WyckofF,  H.  I.,  councilman,  64 


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